Winter Solstice

Dec 21, 2022

Winter Solstice (combining the Latin words sol for “Sun” and sistere for “To Stand Still”) is the time when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and results in the longest night of the year. After this day, the nights get shorter and days longer until the Summer Solstice.
For thousands of years, the winter solstice has been noted, marked and celebrated in almost every human culture. Prehistoric man was very aware of the waning of the daylight hours and the death of the sun was watched with trepidation. When the pattern shifted and the sun was reborn, the trend was welcomed with many festivals and celebrations. 
Art from Zazzle.com

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Winter Guardian

Dec 17, 2022

Each blade of grass whispers: "Jack-in-the-Green."
"Oh Jack, please help me through my winter's night."
When the snow starts falling, I am reminded of a song I enjoy entitled “Jack in the Green” from the album Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull. 
I like to imagine that there is a friendly spirit who looks after all the green that is covered in snow, helping each tiny piece of life through until the warmth of spring.
Art by Manuel Castañón

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Possibilities of Warp Drive

Dec 9, 2022

How many novels, movies, and television series have involved the use of faster than light (FTL) travel? Currently, traveling faster than the speed of light is the primary hurdle to overcome if we are ever going to visit planets beyond our solar system. 
Well, we may be one step closer to overcoming that hurdle. In 1994, Miguel Alcubierre, a theoretical physicist from Mexico, proposed a theoretical means of traveling faster than light. It involved the creation of a “bubble” of curved space that could move faster than light, within which a ship could ride without violating the laws of physics. The problem with this theory was the need for negative energy which at our stage of development, we are currently unable to harness or manipulate. In 2021, two researchers of applied physics started with Alcubierre’s idea but suggested the use of a massive gravitational force instead of negative energy. 
Though the solution is not yet within our grasp, it is marvelous to know that there is ongoing work focused on the discovery of the means to travel faster than the speed of light. We’re a tenacious little species. Nothing will stop us now.
Art by me.

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What Remains of the Long Gone

Dec 2, 2022

If you visit the Castello di Vezio located at the center of Lake Como, on the bluff overlooking Varenna in Italy, you may run into some of the numerous ghosts that haunt the grounds. They were once human but now only their shells remain. 
The old military outpost has stood for more than a thousand years and is possibly Roman in origin. History has it that a variety of ghosts haunt the grounds. The spirit of Queen Teodolinda is said to wander the corridors on moonless nights. 
The idea of those spirits trapped between this world and the next has sparked the imagination of many a writer for centuries. Some of our most favorite modern authors, like Stephen King and Dean Koontz revisit this theme over and over again.
In order to feed the imagination of the visitors, the current white specters that can been seen all around the grounds are a more recent addition. They are the shells of willing hosts, tourists that are placed in position and then covered with gauze and plaster for about an hour until they dry. The results are spooky indeed. 
For more information visit: 
streetartutopia.com/2021/09/01/ghost-sculptures-in-the-castle-of-vezio-in-italy/

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