Almanacs “Moon's full, but is it blue? - Burlington Free Press” plus 4 more |
- Moon's full, but is it blue? - Burlington Free Press
- Ruth Lilly, Who Gave Away About $800 Million, Has Died - NPR News
- Tonight's Blue Moon: All a Big Mistake - YAHOO!
- The Almanac - Dec. 31 - Post Chronicle
- Sandra Bullock Top Money-Making Star of 2009 - Investors Business Daily
| Moon's full, but is it blue? - Burlington Free Press Posted: 31 Dec 2009 06:03 AM PST (2 of 2) By that formula, blue moons happen about once every three years and only in February, May, August or November. Obviously, this rules out New Year's Eve. Alternatively, by the two-in-a-month formula — which still has common currency — blue moons are slightly more frequent, and they can occur in any month but February, which is too short for a full lunar cycle. So much for the astronomy. What about the linguistic meaning — "blue moon" as in rare or unusual? The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest citation is a proverb from 1528, which sounds like an argument in favor of public gullibility: "If they say the moon is blue, We must believe that it is true." Merriam-Webster dates "once in a blue moon" — meaning a long period of time — from 1821. But why "blue"? Perhaps because every once in a great while, the moon actually does have a bluish tint — typically because of some environmental catastrophe (volcanic eruption, forest fire) that throws huge amounts of dust, ash or smoke into the atmosphere. Vermont saw moons of assorted colors as recently as 1992, said Gary Nowak, president of the Vermont Astronomical Society. The causes were active volcanoes around the world — principally Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which erupted in 1991, along with Mount Unzen in Japan and Mount Spurr in Alaska. The result, as seen from Vermont and recorded by Nowak? A black solar eclipse Dec. 9, 1992 (normally, the eclipse has a red or orange hue). A green tint to the moon Oct. 1, 1992. And yes, a bluish tint to the crescent moon and three planets (Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) on Sept. 24-25, 1992. As for blue moons, Nowak said, "It's not a big astronomical event. There's nothing magical about it or mystical." OK, so what about that song? It has been covered variously by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, the Supremes and many others. "Blue," of course, conveys sadness or melancholy, and the moon in the Rodgers & Hart ballad of 1934 had that quality about it — up to a point. The first version of the song — same melody, different lyrics — was called "Prayer" and was written for Jean Harlow to sing in the film, "Hollywood Party," but neither Harlow nor the song wound up in the movie. A later version, also with different lyrics, was titled "The Bad in Every Man," and sung by Shirley Ross in the film, "Manhattan Melodrama." The fourth version, promoted by MGM with more commercially appealing lyrics, became "Blue Moon." It was a hit in 1935 for Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, with Kenny Sargent on vocals. The doo-wop version of 1961 was an even bigger hit for the Marcels. Unlike most Rodgers & Hart stage-show hits, "Blue Moon" had its genesis in Hollywood, and the song has an unmistakable Hollywood imprint: The lovelorn singer's wishes come true in the end as the blue moon turns gold. Contact Tim Johnson at 660-1808 or tjohnson@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Ruth Lilly, Who Gave Away About $800 Million, Has Died - NPR News Posted: 31 Dec 2009 06:17 AM PST What is 'The Two-Way'?This is NPR's news blog. It's a place to come for breaking news, analysis and for stories that are just too interesting — or too entertaining — to pass up. It's also a place for conversation about the news; we're counting on you to keep us honest. But please read the discussion rules before diving in. The blog is hosted by Mark Memmott and Frank James, in collaboration with Morning Edition and All Things Considered. You can learn more about The Two-Way, including the origin of its name, on the "Welcome" page. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Tonight's Blue Moon: All a Big Mistake - YAHOO! Posted: 31 Dec 2009 06:24 AM PST Revelers can ring in the new year with a cosmic flourish tonight, celebrating the first New Year's Eve blue moon since 1990. In truth, tonight's full moon won't be much different than any other full moon. In fact the term "blue moon" as it's used today originates from a writer's mistake. "The 'blue moon' is a creature of folklore," says Philip Hiscock, a folklorist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. "It's the second full moon in a calendar month." If there's been a recent volcanic eruption that poured significant ash into the upper atmosphere, it is possible for the moon to take on a blue tint. That's not expected tonight. All a big mistake Hiscock helped figure out where the term came from. Long ago, "blue moon" was used to describe absurd things. Then in 1946, amateur astronomer James Hugh Pruett (1886-1955), writing in Sky & Telescope magazine, "made an incorrect assumption about how the term had been used in the Maine Farmers' Almanac – which consistently used "blue moon" to mean to the third full moon in a season that contained four of them (rather than the usual three)," the magazine's editors explained this week. Hiscock and Texas astronomer Donald W. Olson helped the magazine sort all this out and admit the blooper in 1999. The mistake led to the current definition of blue moon, generally accepted to mean the second full moon in a given month. The setup occurs about every 2.7 years. Lunar lore The blue moon mistake adds to a host of myths and mysteries about our moon. Among the more interesting things to ponder as you gaze up, weather permitting, at the not-really-blue blue moon: There is no "dark side" of the moon. There is, however, a "far side" that we can't see, because the moon goes around the Earth once and spins on its axis once, all in the same amount of time, and it shows us just one face. There's no solid evidence that the full moon affects behavior. Reliable studies comparing the lunar phases to births, heart attacks, deaths, suicides, violence, psychiatric hospital admissions and epileptic seizures have found little or no connection. The moon is moving away. It's drifting into space as your read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) per year. The moon is never really full. It is lit by reflecting sunlight. So for the face of the moon to be 100 percent lit from our point of view, Earth would have to be exactly between the sun and the moon. But when that happens, there is an eclipse and the moon falls into total shadow. Speaking of eclipses Skywatchers in Europe, Africa, and Asia will have a chance to see a partial lunar eclipse tonight. A distinct but modest scallop of darkness will be seemingly carved from the moon. Lunar eclipses can only occur at full moon, when our planet gets between the sun and the moon and can cast a shadow on the lunar surface. Because the moon's orbital plane is a few degrees off the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, the three bodies don't usually line up exactly, so eclipses don't occur at each full moon, and not all eclipses are total. The timing of the eclipse prevents it from being visible in the lower 48 United States. But compared to a partial lunar eclipse, a blue moon on New Year's Eve is, well, a "once in a blue moon" event.
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| The Almanac - Dec. 31 - Post Chronicle Posted: 31 Dec 2009 05:13 AM PST Today is Thursday, Dec. 31, the 365th and last day of 2009. This is New Year's Eve. The moon is full. The morning stars are Venus, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1491; Charles Edward Stuart, Scotland's "Bonnie Prince Charlie," in 1720; French painter Henri Matisse in 1869; U.S. Army Gen. George Marshall, formulator of the Marshall Aid Plan for Europe following World War II, in 1880; songwriter Jule Styne ("Three Coins In the Fountain, "Let It Snow") in 1905; cowboy actor/singer Rex Allen in 1920; folk-blues singer Odetta (Holmes) in 1930; actors Anthony Hopkins in 1937 (age 72); Sarah Miles in 1941 (age 68) and Ben Kingsley in 1943 (age 66); singer John Denver in 1943; fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg in 1946 (age 63); singer Donna Summer in 1948 (age 61); and actors Tim Matheson in 1947 (age 62), Bebe Neuwirth in 1958 (age 51) and Val Kilmer in 1959 (age 50). On this date in history: In 1879, Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of his incandescent lamp in Menlo Park, N.J. In 1929, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians' first New Year's Eve broadcast from the Roosevelt Grill in New York City, which became an annual event, was heard over the CBS network. In 1947, America's favorite Western movie couple, singing cowboy Roy Rogers and co-star Dale Evans, were married. In 1970, six months after release of their "Let It Be" album, Paul McCartney filed suit in London seeking the legal dissolution of the Beatles' partnership. In 1983, the court-ordered breakup of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. took effect at midnight. In 1984, the United States' first mandatory seat belt law went into effect in the state of New York at midnight. In 1985, rock singer Rick Nelson, his fiancee and five band members were killed when a fire broke out on their chartered DC-3 in northeast Texas. In 1994, Russian forces launched a full air and ground attack on Grozny, the capital city of the rebel republic of Chechnya. In 1997, the Algerian government announced that more than 400 people had been massacred by Islamic extremists during the last nine days of December. In 1999, Panama assumed full control of the Panama Canal. In 2004, at least 175 youths were reported killed in an overnight fire at a popular Buenos Aires nightclub. About 600 more were injured in a mad rush for the exits. Also in 2004, a bus slammed into an oil tanker in Pakistan, killing at least 31 people and seriously injuring 11. In 2006, the toll of U.S. troops killed in Iraq passed the 3,000 mark. Pentagon figures indicated more than 22,000 others had been wounded. Also in 2006, Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union bringing the number of countries to 27 and the number of citizens to 489 million. In 2007, the death toll in Kenya's post-election violence reached at least 140. Tribal uprisings were triggered after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki narrowly won re-election over Raila Odinga despite trailing by a wide margin earlier. In 2008, the U.S. economy wound up a dismal year as signs of recession grew. Major U.S. stock market indexes had their worse single-year performances since the Great Depression of the 1930s. A thought for the day: William Shakespeare wrote, "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." (c) UPI Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Sandra Bullock Top Money-Making Star of 2009 - Investors Business Daily Posted: 31 Dec 2009 06:03 AM PST GROTON, Mass., Dec 31, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Sandra Bullock has been voted the Top Money-Making Star of 2009 in Quigley Publishing Company's 78th Annual Poll of Exhibitors and is the first female to win since Julia Roberts in 1999. Bullock is the eighth woman chosen #1 in the Poll's 78 year history. She appeared in three films in 2009, "The Blind Side," "The Proposal" and "All About Steve." The Quigley Poll, conducted each year since 1932, is an annual survey of motion picture theatre owners and film buyers, which asks them to vote for the ten stars that they believe generated the most box-office revenue for their theatres during the year. It has been long regarded as one of the most reliable indicators of a Star's real box-office draw because the selections are done by people whose livelihood depends on choosing the films that will bring audiences to their theatres. The Quigley Poll appears annually in Quigley Publishing Company's International Motion Picture Almanac and at www.quigleypublishing.com . Johnny Depp placed second this year based on "Public Enemies" and a small role in "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." He was #1 in 2006 and 2007. Matt Damon made his second appearance in the survey, placing #3 with 2009 roles in "Invictus" and "The Informant!" Although George Clooney, placing #4, has never won in his seven mentions in the Poll, he had an extremely productive year with "Up in the Air," "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox"(voice). Robert Downey Jr.'s performances in "Sherlock Holmes" and "The Soloist" helped him place #5. He was #2 in 2008. Tom Hanks is #6, which marks the fifteenth time in the Poll since he first appeared in 1988, including five times as #1. Meryl Streep was in "Julie and Julia," "It's Complicated" and a voice in "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and placed #7, her third mention in the Poll. Brad Pitt made his fifth appearance coming in at #8, due to "Inglourious Basterds." 2007's "Star of Tomorrow," Shia LaBeouf scored #9 with "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and Denzel Washington rounded out the Top Ten with "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3." With Bullock's win, eight women have been voted the Top Money-Makers sixteen times as follows: Marie Dressler (1932, 1933), Shirley Temple (1935, 1936, 1937, 1938), Betty Grable (1943), Elizabeth Taylor (1961), Doris Day (1960, 1962, 1963, 1964), Julie Andrews (1966, 1967) and Julia Roberts. (1999) Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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