Tropical Nights in Tromsø

When temperatures fell to just 21°C in a summer night in 2018 (July 29), it was reported in the news the following day. The first time in recorded history, Tromsø, about 350 km north of the Arctic Circle (69° 40′ 58″ N), had experienced what is called (at temperate latitudes) a tropical night: the temperature would not drop below 20 degrees. (The former Dean at Kuwait University FOD sighed when I told him that we call, in Germany, these nights “tropical”. In Kuwait, during summer months, temperatures usually hover around 33°C.)

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Grace and Humility

I am grateful that the French/German channel ARTE provides footage of the concert of Brian and Roger Eno at the Acropolis in Athens of August 4. The circumstances, in times of Covid, the most terrifying heat wave in Athens since 1987, and even more terrifying bush fires which had reached the outskirts of the Greek capital, must have been extraordinary. Peter Chilvers who was part of the, well, familiy band, wrote the next day, on the Manafonistas blog,

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A Significant Emotional Event

Significant emotional events you won’t forget. Nor where you’ve been and how you felt. I remember as examples 9/11 and Kennedy’s assassination, Princess Diana’s funeral, my father’s passing and maybe a handful further events, the last maybe the disclosure of Abu Ghuraib.

It may be amazing that my very first recollection of a historical event, deeply emotional, was that of August 13, 1961, exactly 60 years ago. I was just five years old. I remember a wonderful afternoon in a nearby park, Essen’s Gruga park, together with my parents, my mother’s sisters and spouses and possibly several of my cousins, all younger than I.

My parents had always an open house. So, the whole party met afterwards at our home, certainly for cake and coffee, smoking cigarettes and having a glass of cognac or beer.

As my parents did not own a TV then the news were received by radio. The Eastern German regime had started building a wall in Berlin, separating Westberlin from Berlin (Ost), later called (by the SED regime) the Antifascist Barrier (“antifaschistischer Schutzwall”).

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Nature vs. God

Michelangelo_-_Creation_of_Adam_(cropped)

When discussing the current Corona virus pandemic with a friend, he mentioned some apocalyptic ideas about God’s wrath. I replied that it is actually Mother Nature who strikes back. Evolution is the concept at work these days.

Homo sapiens (I falter when writing the accepted species name, but am rather tempted to put stupidus instead) has largely excluded themselves from evolution in recent centuries, so a correction was overdue. Just before the planet was destroyed by mass extinction of species, mass pollution with plastic, mass murder with endless wars and, not at least, catastrophic global heating.

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After the Solar Eclipse is Before Another One

Annular

Happy New Year! to all who still follow my blog. We returned safely from buzzing Doha last week where the 2019 Annular Solar Eclipse was visible but again obscured by lots of clouds.  The GIF of the above satellite’s view can be seen here.

IMG_1444

The best picture I was able to take was this one, just before the rising sun reached the overcast sky. We were in Al Wakrah, some 20 km south of Doha. There were a dozen or so fellow eclipse watchers on the beach so early in the morning.

As an annular eclipse is considered dangerous as at no time you should look into the sun, we used, of course, proper eye protection.

The next annular will be on 21 June 2020. And believe it or not, it will be visible again in the Middle East, best in Oman near Muscat.

31 December 2019 @ 8:40 am.

Last modified December 31, 2019.

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