Saturday, 30 January 2010

Saturday Tidbit - The Wolf Moon


Believe it or not, just about every phase of the moon has a name. The names come from different cultures. In December last moon, there were two full moon phases in the moon. The first full moon is known as a Christmas Moon. (From Colonial American Tradtions) The 2nd full moon, which rarely happens is known as a Blue Moon because its the 2nd recoccuring moon in the month. This month, in January, it is known as a Wolf Moon.

And you know how I love wolves. hehe

The Wolf Moon comes from the Native Americans and it's named because of how the wolves used to howl at the moon on cold winter nights.

Interesting Tidbit: The lunar cycle is roughtly 29 days.

Tonight's moon will be especially bigger than most. Why? Taken from Yahoo: The moon is, on average, 238,855 miles (384,400 km) from Earth. The moon's orbit around Earth – which causes it to go through all its phases once every 29.5 days – is not a perfect circle, but rather an ellipse. One side of the orbit is 31,070 miles (50,000 km) closer than the other.


So in each orbit, the moon reaches this closest point to us, called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it will tonight, making the moon bigger and brighter than any other full moons during the year.

The Moon over Turin, Italy, Dec 2009



Taken from the Native American culture is a list of the Full Moons for the upcoming year:

FEB 2010 - Snow Moon
MAR 2010 - Worm Moon
Interesting Note: In 2010 this is also the Paschal Full Moon; the first full Moon of the spring season. The first Sunday following the Paschal Moon is Easter Sunday, which indeed will be observed six days later on Sunday, April 4.

APR 2010 - Pink Moon
MAY 2010 - Flower Moon
JUN 2010 - Strawberry Moon
JUL 2010 - Buck Moon
AUG 2010 - Sturgeon Moon
SEP 2010 - Harvest Moon
Traditionally, this designation goes to the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (fall) Equinox. The Harvest Moon usually comes in September, but (on average) once or twice a decade it will fall in early October.

OCT 2010 - Hunter's Moon
NOV 2010 - Beaver's Moon
DEC 2010 - Cold Moon


Reference for this blog entry:http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100129/sc_space/biggestandbrightestfullmoonof2010tonight

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Promo Wednesday - Review for Destination: Berlin


This Review is from "Book of the Moment Reviewer." and is on Berlin's Amazon Page.

*******

After reading the back of this book, I was feeling a little iffy as I started it. Sometimes military stories catch my attention, and other times I get overwhelmed by the lingo and the violence and quickly lose interest. "Destination: Berlin," kept my rapt attention from the first page through to the last though. As I finished the story I realized with a smile that I actually quite enjoyed it.

Sharon Cates is a model American soldier stationed in Germany. On her way to attend a routine orientation tour in Berlin, she meets a Russian soldier named Dimitri. The two share a meal and agree to put aside their military and political differences and "be friends for the day."

Shortly thereafter, an explosion derails the train, mildly injuring Cates. After overhearing a conversation by the train bombers, Dimitri quickly realizes that Cates is carrying more than just her identification papers in her briefcase. Somewhere in that case, unbeknownst to her, are nuclear launch codes that people are willing to kill to get their hands on.

Injured and completely confused, Cates finds herself with few options other than following the enemy soldier to safety. From here we follow Cates and Dimitri as they attempt to get to a safe and neutral part of the country; all the while hoping to guard the codes and prove Cates had no knowledge of the codes being in her briefcase at all.

There's a little bit of everything mixed into this story. There's history, adventure, suspense, romance and of course so military jargon. The author does a good job though, of simplifying the military lingo, so that it never becomes a burden to understand. The story flows well, and moves along quickly. If you're looking for a good story to keep you occupied for a night or two, I'd highly recommend this one.

4 Stars
Book of the Moment

*****
Here's a link to Berlin's Amazon Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Destination-Berlin-S-Cardin/dp/0595164196/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264608108&sr=8-1

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

 
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