Lunar Eclipse Pictures from Northern New Jersey
It was a beautifully clear night in Bergen County New Jersey and it would be such a waste not to share such a celestial sight. The first picture was taken about 2:15 AM EST and the second about 30 minutes later. Both were captured using a standard dSLR camera with 200mm lens and remote shutter.
Before the eclipse started there was enough light outside to easily move around and see the dials on the camera. By the time the second picture was taken the light was gone and it was almost pitch black. The moon was a dark red color as it passed into the Earth’s shadow.
La Bamba on the Subway
Up until the stop where the guitar players got on it had been a rough ride, in a crowded car, in the wrong direction. Even after getting back to the surface my trip wasn’t getting any better. I still managed to walk in the wrong direction and make 4 consecutive wrong turns in a row. But thats another story.
These two guitar players played La Bamba between one of the stops. Not everyone was as pleased as me but then, as Dad would always say, “Simple minds are easily amused”. Considering how turned around I was it definitely applied to me that day.
NJHSA Choir Performance at Pascack Bible Church
Friday the NJSHA Choir performed at Pascack Bible Church (PBC) in Hillsdale, NJ. They recently returned from a European tour. I heard them give a Christmas performance to raise money for their trip. I remember they were good but I had forgotten how good until I heard them again Friday night.
The performance was excellent, the young men and women were exceptionally talented. To say the performance was priceless would be and understatement. They sang with superb harmony, melody, and all the other musical terms that a critic can use to rate a performance. Most of all they sang with a joy and exuberance that made me smile.
Several of the songs really stood out to me. “Paru parong Bukid” was a song about a young girl in a new dress who was having trouble paying attention in church. The emphasis put into the music made me think about the conflict in her mind as she fought to not think about the dress but to focus on the church service. It brought to mind memories and thoughts that made me smile from ear to ear. Sort of like being at the office at 4PM on beautiful friday afternoon.
“I Sing the Mighty Power of God” is a favorite song of mine and the vigor and technical skill it was sung with added power and meaing to the words. It was a marvelous opening to the line up of songs.
The YouTube videos don’t do the songs justice but they are an excellent reminder of a wonderful performance and the emotions that they stirred up by hearing them. Thanks to jgreendyk for posting them. You can find the rest of the videos of the performance as PBC (Pascack Bible Church) on this YouTube channel
Running With The Fireflies
Through the dark,
under lofty tree tops,
across the night shadows
cast by the moon and the stars,
I ran.
The temperature,
wasn’t hot or even all that cold.
Invigorating, it spurred me on.
I ran.
Everywhere,
and yet nowhere.
The fireflies teased me with light,
Left, right, no… straight ahead,
Keep up, run faster if you can.
I run…
…. as fast as I can.
Running With The Fireflies by Jared Bratu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Brazilian BBQ
Technically it was an American Brazilian BBQ and it was in the New York suburbs… but hey, it was still a Brazilian BBQ. To validate the experience I tried grilled chicken hearts. Before you think “Eww, I could never eat that”, please tell me what part of a pig a hot dog is made from. Stumped? So don’t knock chicken hearts. Think of them as a fine piece of meat encased in a heart shaped sausage casing. *Mmmm delicious*
All kidding aside the BBQ was wonderful and I found myself enjoying the Brazilian style better than the American counter part. The American style is to cook a big steak and then slice it up on piece at a time. The Brazilian style is to have smaller finger picking size tasty morsels. *Smacks lips* tasty.
The company was as equally wonderful, if not more so! :) What a delightful time. Thanks Margot for posting some great pics. Check them out at her Interior Design blog.