mouseandhat Wednesday: moon time(!)

Jul 8, 2010 by Joshua    3 Comments    Posted under: mouseandhat

I had intended to post this sooner, but I was messing around with transferring the site to a new host, and technical problems set me back a bit. Apologies to anyone who might have been waiting for it.

From "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (1902)

After consulting with Jeremy, who took responsibility for submitting this topic, I learned that he had come up with it while drunk (though he later stated that he was not). That certainly explains why it makes no sense to me or, even, to him.

In that case, I shall approach the topic similarly to the way I did with Jackie Robinson and compile a list of facts and interesting points relating to the moon and “moon time” that you may or may not already know.

• The term “lunacy” derives from the Latin “luna”, or “moon”. The word stems from an earlier time when the moon was believed to have influence on one’s mental state, driving people to insanity. I sometimes toss around the idea of trying to popularize the term “solatic”, for one who is mentally affected by overexposure to the sun. Also, “Lunatica” is a pretty catchy song by Kay Pettigrew.
• “Moon Time” is the name of a song by Japanese electropop artist Hirasawa Susumu, from his 1998 album Technique of Relief. Hirasawa is the artist behind the soundtracks to surreal anime such as the show “Paranoia Agent” and the movie “Paprika”.
• Some have argued that the moon’s cycles influence our lives, and by understanding such influences, we can lead more fulfilling lives. This philosophy has been expressed in literature such as Charles William Daniel’s “Moon Time: The Art of Harmony with Nature and Lunar Cycles”. Whether or not it has any validity, I could not say, but it is probably worth noting that many early calendars were based at least in part on the cycles of the moon.
• While poking around on the Internet, I found this lunar clock that will convert dates and times to “Lunar Standard Time (LST)”. The idea, apparently, is to take into account the rotation of the moon and apply the concept of Earth’s time to it so as to obtain moon time, resulting in a number that doesn’t really mean much to us here on Earth.
• Moon Time is the name of a restaurant in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. Apparently, it has received generally favorable reviews for its food, atmosphere and wide selection of beers. I’d be curious to check it out if it weren’t clear on the other side of the country. Maybe some day, if I find myself in Idaho for some reason.

I hope you have gotten your fill of “moon time” – I know I have.

With the site transferred, I am going to try to put aside more time for updates that aren’t mouseandhat posts. I might also look into changing the blog theme, if only because this one has me a bit confined in the content space – particularly when it comes to images.

Anyway, next week’s mouseandhat topic is “reality shows” submitted by Borommakot. Apologies for the lack of photo of me pulling it out of the hat.

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