8/11/2014
This will be a grammatical nightmare, and I won't even finish it before I post or if I even post it, but I'll worry about that later. I had been trying to track down Missy- the most amazing makeup artist I've ever seen- for my upcoming wedding...since almost literally the day that I got engaged. She was not on Facebook. My old cosmetic coworkers hadn't heard from her and/or were looking for her too. She freelanced for MAC, but was never there when I stopped by. I left my number for her with the girl at the MAC counter. Nothing. I tried to contact her on her website I found online...though it looked like she may not have used it anymore. Months I tried in vain to get in touch with her. Finally my old counter manager at Clinique got her number for me. I spoke with her tonight. Just in time, too, as she was already booked up for a few dates in Oct 2015. But none of that was about to matter as much.
As I opened facebook to message a friend who had also been looking for Missy..I saw it. Robin Williams dead. Another hoax? I never blindly believe the crap I see on facebook so I searched online for credible sources. And it was true. It was true!
A flood of high school memories came back to me. I have never really been like most other girls. Ever. Especially in high school. There was never one instance of me ever wanting, even a little tiny bit, to be a cheerleader, or prom queen, or the most popular, or wanting to listen to those shitty boy bands. While most girls were in love with Leonardo DiCaprio in the late 90s, I was obsessed with Robin Williams. I read his biographies, I bought as many vhs tapes of his movies as I could, I was gifted an old stand up vhs; "An Evening With Robin Williams" that I cherished, I taped things off tv, I scrapbooked articles, I learned most lines from his movies by heart...I wore a Mork pin that said Nanu Nanu with his face on it for crying out loud. I was obsessed. He was so talented in so many ways. He was able to convey so many different spectrums of emotion through so many diverse characters...he was simply gifted. Gradually, over the uerars I became less obsessed, but still held such high regard for this amazing, talented, compassionate man. Robin Williams was still one of my favorite actors.
So tonight's news really hit me hard. It stunned me. It's so sad that our most gifted and talented artists are also usually the most tortured souls.
I was in Boston last year - at the Red Sox game with my Dad. The day was absolutely gorgeous, Yawkey Way bustled with activity and excitement. The Sox were all wearing the number "42" on their jersey, paying homage to Jackie Robinson. It was an exciting game that ended with an exciting walk off RBI double by Mike Napoli. The day was perfect. My dad and I left Fenway Park and shuffled along with the masses of people swarming around by the marathon route. I took a picture of a sign that said "1 mile to go" and turned to my dad - "want to head over to the finish line?" We both decided that the crowds were a little much for the both of us, and headed for the train station. I remember seeing runners that had already finished the race on the train, wrapped like baked potatoes in their space blankets, heading home from what I'm sure was an amazing, though exhausting day.
It wasn't until we were in the car, with the radio on, that I overheard talk of an explosion at the finish line. I turned the radio up - there was a lot of confusion, nobody knew exactly what had happened or if there were any casualties as of yet. All I could keep thinking was how grateful I was that we left when we did. The rest of that day, I will not go into. You know how it ended. Surreal and frightening.
April 18-19 I stayed up over 24 hours listening to the police scanners through an app on my phone the night they found the bombers. I remember that I was on PT (a Phish message board, of all places) when one of the users started a thread about a disturbance outside of where he lived, by MIT. At that point nobody knew there was a connection between this incident and the bombers, and it was a wild roller coaster of a ride following this story as it slowly unraveled. It really didn't seem like real life. To say it was a relief when they finally captured the remaining bomber (I don't even like to type his name) would be a huge understatement.
Vary Lumar - various songs from their yet unreleased album
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Sting - The Last Ship
Jeff Beck - Live at Ronnie Scott's
Beth MacGray - (Amazing local talent, that blew me away at open mic night)
Steven Wilson - all albums, as usual. In particular: "London" a demo song.
Trey Anastasio Band - Live
Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion, especially Ljudet Innan, over and over again.
Like the nights when the Northern Lights perform...
Well, I have been back from Iceland for a little less than a week now. What a trip! It was chaotic at times, but the chaos always seemed to work out in our favor- for example; free transfer from the hotel, free passes to the AMAZING Blue Lagoon, and free transfer to the airport. But I digress...that is a different story for a different time. I saw the Aurora Borealis. And that, my friends, is what this post is about. The above photo is from that magical night, as all the photos I post will be.
Where to begin? OK, Our trip started on February 28th. We would be searching for the Northern Lights on March 1. On February 25th the sun unleashed the biggest solar flare of the year and one of the strongest in recent years. Thank you solar max! Sunspot AR1990 spat out a massive X4.9 class solar flare which in turn caused a Coronal Mass Ejection blast. X class flares are pretty much the most powerful flares there are, and had this flare been aimed directly at Earth, it could have caused some disturbances among satellites and such. Luckily for Earth, that wasn't the case.
It takes a bit of time for a CME to reach Earth...and it first start to hit on February 27, and there were reports and photos of the Aurora being seen as far down as Scotland and even northern Maine! Needless to say, the Aurora Borealis was spectacular for all who were fortunate to see them. I had been following the space weather for weeks now, so I was well aware of this solar flare, and knew my chances of seeing the Dancing Lights were very good- weather permitting. If you had read my first Iceland post, you knew I chose this time very specifically, right down to the new moon, and just had to hope luck would be on my side. Boy, was it ever.
I had been obsessively checking the weather and cloud cover for March 1st, and it changed daily. Snow/rain, cloudy, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, clear...literally every option. Imagine my relief when the day of the tour CLEAR skies were forecast. Not only that, but unseasonably warm! I knew I was super fortunate. After an adventure packed day touring the country side of Iceland, and hiking on a glacier (actually pretty treacherous at times! But SO amazing) our tour group had dinner and then set out to hunt for those magical Northern Lights. It was about 9pm. No sooner did the tour guide tell us that our chances would be good, then I saw a hazy, milky green glow out my window. The tour guide saw this at exactly the same time, and excitedly pointed it out to us. A moment later he had pulled into Seljalandsfoss waterfall, and we all spilled out of the tour van to witness this beautiful spectacle of nature.
It was a hazy green strip across the sky. It moved very, very slowly...you almost couldn't tell until you looked away and looked back. I knew that it wasn't that strong, but I was so grateful just to catch even a faint glimpse of this phenomenon. We watched it for at least an hour, then we started heading back towards Reykjavic. The whole 2 hour ride back I could see the lights from my window. Sometimes a little stronger than others, sometimes just a glowing green fog. Then, about 25 minutes outside of Reykjavic, the van started to make a strange noise. It almost sounded like a flat tire. The van had broke down and pulled to the side of the road. It was about midnight by now, and we were told we had to wait for the tour van behind us to take their people home to their respective hotels, and come back to get us. About 10 minutes later, as I stare out the window up at the sky, I see the most amazing vertical, 3 dimensional green beam of light reaching down from the heavens straight towards my face it seemed. I screamed in excitement for my friend to come over to the window- and the sky just exploded in auroral activity. We all piled back out of the tour van and marveled at the display that was happening 360 degrees around us. It moved and danced and swayed, it changed color, if ever so slightly, it took on amazing forms and shapes that had us all cheering and gasping in awe. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I could have watched it forever. But, as luck would have it, it started to die down right around the time the tour bus came back to get us. Such a magical, special moment of my life. I will never forget it.
One potential downfall I had, however, was that my manual setting on my camera did not want to cooperate with me. It refused to let me override my ISO setting. Nobody could fix it. I feared I would have no pictures of my Northern Lights to reminisce about. Thankfully, two wonderful ladies in my group offered to email the pics they had taken (the ones posted here) and I am so thankful for the kindness of acquaintances! The following pic is somewhat similar to what I saw coming down out of the sky, reaching to me, photo courtesy of my wonderful tour friend Tina:
Later that week, as I flew home from an adventure of a lifetime, I picked a Joni Mitchell song to listen to: Little Green. That song could not have been more fitting. I couldn't believe it. I had forgot about the lyrics, and I teared up as I listened (not that that's unusual, I tear up to Joni A LOT) but when she got to this part ; "Just a little green, like the nights when the Northern Lights perform" it was perfect. Just Perfect. I couldn't have picked a better song to see me home.
My heart and soul had ached to see the Aurora Borealis, and it is not lost on me that I was extremely, extremely fortunate to witness it. Some little part of my soul was filled that night. Filled with the magic, wonder and awe that only seeing something so mystical as that can fill.
The Northern Lights had been waving to me... and I got to wave back.
The Flaming Lips - Dark Side of the Moon (live at the Hangout Fest)
Sigur Ros - Takk
The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries
Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon live
Bjork - Vespertine
Tori Amos - Wrapped Around Your Finger (Police cover)
Steven Wilson - Insugentes, Grace For Drowning, Raven That Refused To Sing
Porcupine Tree - Various albums
That was my hook for the Patriots/Broncos game Lenny and I attended a few weeks ago - and, well, it was correct. I looked at it as Iceland preparation, in actuality; it could have been Mount. Everest preparation. I don't think I will ever expose myself to anything that cold for such a lengthy period of time ever again, not willingly anyway.
I thought we were so well prepared. I definitely could not have had any more layers on. We had toe warmers, hand warmers, body warmers, wool socks, thermals, base layers, ear muffs, hats, hoods, face masks, blankets - you name it. It didn't stand a chance up there in the 300s section of Gillette Stadium. The wind at ground level was bad enough - but get to the top of the stadium and...forget about it! It was the second coldest game in Patriots history. To add insult to injury, the Pats were HORRENDOUS in that first half. I mean...worst they have ever played. I kept shouting out "This is the worst game I have ever seen!" in disbelief as I watched three consecutive Pats possessions end with fumbles and horrible passes/plays. I did not take any photos, as I did not want to remove my hands from my hand warmers. I did not want hot chocolate, I didn't want anything. I just sat there trying to stay warm. People who bought beers found they had frozen before they got a chance to sip them! Luckily, the game turned out to be AMAZING and was the biggest comeback in Pats history, if I recall correctly. By the time Lenny and I left, I legit could not feel my hips. In fact, they were so cold they burned. I was convinced I had frost bite on them. They did not respond to heat. They remained ice cold until the next morning - I shit you not. It was insane.
I don't actually have a wonky eye in real life. That is just a glare. (Yeah, sure, whatever, Jeanine ;)
So, with my Iceland trip rapidly approaching, I have a couple tweaks to make to my cold weather attire. First and foremost being SKI PANTS! I need to keep those hips/thighs warm! The North Face has some great pants for that, and I don't want to accept imitations when it comes to keeping warm! I honestly don't think it could be that much colder than the Pats game, though. So, I should be alright. (Knock on Wood)
In other Iceland news, it does seem as if we are entering into another Solar Max - as I had posted months ago. This is extremely good news for me where the Aurora Borealis is concerned! Now, if the weather will just cooperate, I'll be in for a real treat!
I did it. I went ahead and booked a trip to Iceland for March 2014. The deal was too incredible to pass up. Glacier walks? Golden Circle tour? Geysers? Geothermal natural steam baths and warm sand beaches in winter? Hunting for the elusuve and magical Aurora Borealis after a traditional Icelandic dinner? All that included with air and hotel? Yes. Sign me the hell up.
I chose to go to Iceland in winter because if I am going to be in the arctic circle where auroral activity happens, I'm going to try like hell to see it. I researched relentlessly about the best times to see the Northern Lights and settled on the new moon in March.
Sept/October & February/March were the months that seemed to have the best chances for potential viewing, however I am extremely aware that there is a VERY good chance I will not see the spectacle at all. There could be rain/snow, there could be cloud cover, there could be no or very low solar activity, I could just have bad luck. I have prepared myself for that disappointment, and figure it will give me a reason to return to the arctic circle again if I don't catch a glimpse this trip. Iceland looks absolutely AMAZING otherwise, so seeing the dancing lights will just be icing on the cake if it happens.
I do have to say though, if there was a time where the chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis were the best, 2013/2014 would be it. The peak of solar activity for this solar cycle has been approaching for the last year or so. Actually, there was seemingly one peak already, but experts are predicting another peak at the end of the year and into 2014. The peak is considered to be when the sun's magnetic field reverses polarity- the north pole already has changed polarity, signaling the first peak, which means that very soon (4 or 5 months from now) the south pole will catch up and flip polarity, beginning a second peak of activity; as solar storms become much more active with the changing of the poles.
These solar cycles last 11 years approximately, and right now is the mid point of the cycle and the highest point for solar activity, solar flares...meaning the most chances to see the Northern Lights. Here's hoping!
I used to be a metal chick. When I was in high school (not middle school where I was labeled a "headbanger" for listening to the likes of Alice in Chains and Nirvana, etc.) I was big, big into metal. I even had my own metal band. I always compared that band to Ministry, in that it initially consisted of only two people: My friend Meaghan, growling out meaningful, dark and twisted lyrics...and myself, growling out dark, distorted guitar riffs in between strategically placed palm mutes- laced with our own unique brand of teenage angst. We called ourselves Stigmata, until we realized that name had already been taken. I loved that band. But I digress. These days, though I do enjoy a good metal song or two, I really have to be in the mood. So I have been apprehensive about listening to Opeth.
Last week someone had suggested that I listen to an album by them called Damnation. Here it is, a week later, and I decided to give it a spin. I've already listened to it all the way through twice. Ready to go for a third. I'm in.
On another note, I saw The Aristocrats live this past Tuesday at Berklee and had my face melted. I went by myself (which I enjoy doing) and was just blown away the whole night by the level of musicianship this power trio had. Talent on top of talent. Besides Guthrie Govan's incredible shredding and Bryan Beller's ridiculous bass, the highlight for me had to be when Marco Minnemann did a 6 minute long drum solo that was simply mesmerizing and unbelievable. So glad to have witnessed that show.
Playlist:
Opeth - Damnation
Phish - Live streaming of summer tour 2013
Steven Wilson - Too much to list on this blog
Ministry - Incase You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up
At the Drive In - Various albums
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
The Aristocrats - Culture Clash
