some fun writing.
some fun writing.
here are a couple pieces i’ve written for your reading pleasure.
getting curious at caveat in manhattan
eight (okay, nine) ways to get curious in 2018
Well, folks, we’re already getting deep into January–the perfect time of year for letting resolutions slip and remembering when the sun would set after 6p. We have agreed to be kind to ourselves, and we’re not big fans of resolutions. We are, however, HUGE fans of curiosity, so we’re thinking of this list as a commitment to curiosity throughout the year. When we have some spare time, we’ll look at this list, pick something, and then get out and do it. Because why not?
1) Citizen Science–the act of regular people getting out there and sciencing with the best of them. Check out this link to find a project near you, or something you can work on remotely!
2) Parks! We’re usually pretty into checking out National Parks (because they’re America’s Best Idea) BUT let’s remember that there are plenty of local and state parks nearby too. Here are some links for Minnesota and New York:
3) Check out a museum! Lots of them have free days, and you’ll probably learn something mind-blowing while you’re there. Here’s a link to the Walker in Minneapolis, and a cool list about free or pay-what-you-wish museums in NYC.
4) We love walking. Sometimes, though, you can land in a walking routine. We get it. So we’re going to try to take more walks, and when we do walk, we’ll be intentional about noticing something new. Maybe we’ll even post what we find on our @DrivingCuriosity Instagram! We’d love to see what you get out and find too! #getcurious
5) Challenge your perceptions. Seriously. Here are some links to items we have learned from, but don’t stop there. Talk to your friends and keep a dialogue going. Get curious, super curious, on this one.
6) Open your eyes to new artists and thinkers, especially ones from underrepresented groups. Again, the lists go on and on, but here are some links for (potentially) new music, poetry, and generally other good-doing:
7) Chase the night–This Winter Darkness is the perfect time to enjoy dark skies, wherever you can find them. You definitely don’t need links to do that, but if you’re looking for extra motivation, here are some links to check out.
8) Sometimes, though, the Winter Darkness really just provides a good excuse to curl up and watch a lovely documentary. This is a nice chance to practice challenging perceptions AND looking at works you may not have otherwise. Be intentional! Here are a couple lists we’ve referenced recently:
The Bonus (And Super Important) Item!
9) Fall En Love With Yourself, because the relationship you have with yourself is the most important one that you have. PERIOD. Yes, one of us may have cried at a Lizzo show in St Paul when she talked about this. This relationship takes WORK, and it isn’t always easy. Lean on our savior, Lizzo, and let her loving lyrics open the door to YOUR hearts. For extra inspiration, here’s a link to us dancing to En Love among the basalt in Craters of the Moon National Monument.
pre-totality in grand teton national park, 2017. for footage of that experience, click here (and turn the sound on)
five ways witnessing totality is like having sex
“It was how he imagined from the pictures he had seen, but so much more.”
“Waves of excitement and energy coursed through his body, and he struggled to contain it all.”
“You can already feel the excitement long before, and the adrenaline flow in the last moments. Very primal emotions and spiritual experience.”
No, those fine people aren’t talking about sex. Get your mind out of the gutter. Those are all quotes from people who have seen a total solar eclipse. In all the build up (dare we say foreplay?) to this summer’s premier celestial event, you may have failed to notice that totality and the tantric tango actually share quite a number of similarities. Both flood our brains with feel good hormones and provoke a rush of physiological responses. This has not gone unnoticed by scientists or eclipse chasers. So strap in, because we break it all down for you below in several sexy snippets.
Your first time is unforgettable
Whether good or bad (let’s be honest: bad), you will always remember when and where you had sex for the first time. Same with totality. Witnessing it for the first time is a big deal, partially because, just like sex, no one can really describe how it feels and all the emotions that come along with it. Both totality and coitus primus come with pretty lengthy build ups too. Both involve lots of hoping and planning and require backup plans when disasters like cloudy skies or a partner who can’t find the clitoris strike.
We don’t think anyone would disagree that sex can be life changing, but we have hard data that says witnessing totality is. In a 2011 survey by psychologist, umbraphile, and badass woman of science Kate Russo, 68% of respondents said that seeing totality had changed their outlook on life. And just like sex, one totality is never enough.
Once it’s over you know you want to do it again
Even if your first time was awful, you probably knew you wanted to do it again. After our first totality experience (which wasn’t awful at all), we knew we had to witness it again. We wanted to feel the exact same sense of awe, to confirm that the otherworldly events of totality really happened. One first time totality viewer described how she “didn’t want to let go of those euphoric moments of totality.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
And just like some (most) of us spend a significant portion of our lives thinking about, trying to have, and/or actually having sex, some people spend lots of time and energy (and money) chasing totality. Being an umbraphile does require more commitment than sex though. While there’s a total solar eclipse somewhere on earth about every 18 months, they are often in remote locations that require lots of time and travel to access.
Repeatedly yelling ‘OH MY GOD’ is totally acceptable
Audio of people watching totality can easily be confused with sounds of a…more orgiastic nature. Kate Russo sums it up pretty well when she describes “breathing heavily, repeating the same words over and over, mumbling randomly.” Listen for yourself—our recording from totality features lots of those things. And just like some really spectacular sex, the end of totality can and often does leave you speechless. We’ll tell you this much: You’re definitely going to have to pee by the time it’s over.
Protection is necessary
Listen. There are currently ads on the New York City subway that feature an erupting volcano and warn straphangers about a SYPHILIS EXPLOSION raging in the city. Also, conservative lawmakers keep using our reproductive organs as bargaining chips in some deluded toxic masculinity game. So protection is super important, y’all. Looking directly at the sun is a stupid idea, so until it’s fully covered, you need eclipse glasses. (If you have leftover ones, consider donating them to Astronomers Without Borders.) Totality is the one part of an eclipse you don’t need protection for since the moon is fully covering the sun. And your camera needs protection too. The sun will fry the photoreceptor on your phone just as quickly as your retinas. So strap on your protection of choice—we don’t care if you think it feels better without it.
The white supremacist patriarchy has really messed it up for a lot of people
The 2017 total solar eclipse was a wonderfully unifying experience for a tense country, but it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that warm and fuzzy wasn’t always the eclipse vibe. Notable douchenozzle Christopher Columbus used a total lunar eclipse for evil, because of course he did. When he and his poorly supplied and half-mutinied crew were stranded in modern day Jamaica, Columbus told the locals that the ‘christian god’ had turned the moon red in anger after the Arawak refused to give the men more supplies.
Let’s not forget about women. When the first professional female astronomer and Vassar professor Maria Mitchell planned to view the total solar eclipse of 1878, she had to organize her own expedition. The government was happily funding male expeditions, but didn’t give a flying fudge fart about helping Mitchell. Weird. But like badass women throughout history, Mitchell shrugged and went about her life. She invited five students to join her, and led an all female crew out west for totality. While out there, they gathered data and waved a giant middle finger at the notion that women were ill suited for academic pursuits and incapable of fieldwork.
White supremacist patriarchy: bringing us rape culture, systemic racism, grinding poverty, and a lack of women in science.
Okay people, don’t cue up the D’Angelo just yet.
There are some key differences that keep sex and totality in their own little boxes. For instance, you’ll love talking to your parents about totality. There also could be a lot of children around when you experience totality, and that’s fun and acceptable. The very precise geometry of a total solar eclipse means that when you get ready to experience totality, you know exactly how long it’s going to last. Umbraphiles keep a very accurate record of how many minutes they’ve spent basking in the moon’s shadow. We’re willing to guess you don’t do the same record keeping for your sex life, but think about it. Could you even guess how many minutes you’ve spent getting it on?
After the 2017 eclipse, our totality total stands at 99 glorious seconds—not nearly long enough. So you will definitely find us in the path of the moon’s shadow again in 2024, excitedly screaming with the crowd, adding our own special bit to the intellectual orgasm that is totality.
All quotes come courtesy of Kate Russo’s fabulous books Being in the Shadow and Total Addiction.