Solstice » shortest day of the year http://www.solsticedev.com Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:42:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Newgrange (Celtic Woman) http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/newgrange-celtic-woman/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/newgrange-celtic-woman/#comments Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:34:10 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/newgrange-celtic-woman Continue reading →]]> The song “newgrange” from “celtic woman : a new journey”

This is my 2nd video! please rate =)
Thanks for watching!

“Newgrange (Irish: Sí an Bhrú) is a passage tomb of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath. It is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, and indeed the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. Newgrange was built in such a way that at dawn on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight for a very short time illuminates the floor of the chamber at the end of the long passageway.”

from Wikipedia

Duration : 0:3:11


[youtube exjUiHlAhJg]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/newgrange-celtic-woman/feed/ 30 Valentine’s Day: Dump It or Keep It? http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/valentines-day-dump-it-or-keep-it/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/valentines-day-dump-it-or-keep-it/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:15:13 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/valentines-day-dump-it-or-keep-it Continue reading →]]> Originally Aired: Wednesday, February 11, 2008 (Reloaded)

As Ive gotten older (even though I age very slowly, at least thats what I tell myself lol) Ive come to the realization that holidays that specifically portray gift giving seem to be meaningless. (Aside from your birthday ofcourse) Above them all I find that Valentines Day is the worst of them all Quick brief history lesson if you are unaware

The origins of Valentines Day are a bit skewed. Several early christian martyrs were name Valentine. Of the many Valentines in history Feb 14th is linked to two: Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni thats really the ONLY piece of concrete fact we know From there on its a bunch of BS legends of conflicting stories about Rome/Terni either A. writting a love letter to a young girl of which he signed Your Valentine or B. continuing to perform marriages of single soldiers when the belief at the time was that single men made better soldiers. Then theres the thought that Christians chose to commerate their death and/or christianize the pagan Lupercalia festival All in all its a bunch of crap!

My take on history? Some very smart business person(s) decided that well play on peoples basic natural emotion (LOVE) and find a way to make moneyhmmm, what should we do? Make it a holiday!!!!!! Everyone loves holidays, even if you arent necessarily off work its on your calendar and if they got enough people to buy into it (obviously they did) commercial businesses would flourish (and boy did they!)

Ill make this quick and painless, let me introduce you to my little list Its called

SHIRAZS LIST AS TO WHY VALENTINES DAY IS THE MOST MEANINGLESS HOLIDAY (witty arent I? lol)

It has NO real origin. Just because someone said I should do something doesnt make it valid. Proove something to me.
Its a commercial scam! I spend enough money on other things (birthdays, random gifts, etc.) than to now have to worry about purchasing something that has to be tied in red wrapping paper.
Love should be about. LOVE If youre only showing me that you love me on February 14th (by purchasing the same things 99.9% of other men are buying) then guess what, that not the type of love I really want. How about making your OWN special day during the year. A day that you and your partner went out for the first time, first kiss, first sex (oops I mean love session lol), you know the meaningful things. Or maybe its the day that he asked you.. Do you want to be my girlfriend Isnt that more meaningful than a random (extremely random) day in the shortest month of the year!??
Im sorry. Rant over. Am I being irrational people? If youre into Valentines Day, help me to understand why. If you agree with me, yep, still drop me a line as well.

The One & Only,

~Shiraz

Duration : 0:8:30


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]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/valentines-day-dump-it-or-keep-it/feed/ 0 the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is around june 21.? http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/the-longest-day-of-the-year-in-the-northern-hemisphere-is-around-june-21/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/the-longest-day-of-the-year-in-the-northern-hemisphere-is-around-june-21/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:01:33 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/the-longest-day-of-the-year-in-the-northern-hemisphere-is-around-june-21 Continue reading →]]> yet the warmest summer days do not occur until july or august. the shortest day of the year is around december 21. yet the oldest winter days do not occur unti january or february. how can you explain these delays in hottest and coolest weather?

The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere is June 21st and you are correct in saying that the hottest temps of the Summer occur much later. The reason for this is because up until we reach the max temps, the Sun’s radiation has been mostly warming up the Earth’s surface from when it was frozen in the Winter. The incoming Sun’s radiation is effectively concentrated in the ground, heating the ground up. This is also a daily event as well because although the Sun’s max height in the sky occurs at noon (1PM in daylight savings time) the Sun’s incoming shortwave radiation is heating up the ground and then this heat is reflected back into the atmosphere as long wave (heat radiation) and that is why during Summer the hottest past of the day is typically in late afternoon.

It is a little different during our Winter as the Coldet day usually occurs near the beginning of January just 10 days after the shortest day of the year.

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/the-longest-day-of-the-year-in-the-northern-hemisphere-is-around-june-21/feed/ 3 Burning The Clocks 2007 http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-the-clocks-2007/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-the-clocks-2007/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:06:11 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-the-clocks-2007 Continue reading →]]> This is what Brighton does when confronted with the shortest day of the year – half a dozen samba bands, giant illuminated tissue paper sculptures and thousands of people dancing along to the seafront to Burn The Clocks and bring the sun back.

Duration : 0:2:52


[youtube kJMRdMtSU9k]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-the-clocks-2007/feed/ 0 Dean Martin – Let It Snow http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dean-martin-let-it-snow/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dean-martin-let-it-snow/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:06:26 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dean-martin-let-it-snow Continue reading →]]> Artist – Dean Martin
Song – Let It Snow
(Lyrics)

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful
But The Fire Is So Delightful
Since We’ve No Place To Go
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Man, It Doesn’t Show Signs of Stopping
And I’ve Brought Some Corn For Popping
The Lights Are Turned Way Down Low
Let It Snow, Let It Snow

When We Finally Kiss Goodnight
How I’ll Hate Going Out In A Storm
But If You Really Hold Me Tight
All The Way Home I’ll Be Warm

And The Fire Is Slowly Dying
And My Dear We’re Still Goodbying
But As Long As You Love Me So
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, And Snow

(Insturmental)

When We Finally Kiss Goodnight
How I’ll Hate Going Out In A Storm
But If You Really Grab Me Tight
All The Way Home I’ll Be Warm

Oh! The Fire Is Slowly Dying
And My Dear We’re Still Goodbying
But As Long As You Love Me So
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

December 21, 2009
Storm Finally Exits a Snow-Covered East Coast
By JOSEPH BERGER
A high-octane snowstorm that played havoc with travel across the East Coast, from commuter trains to jumbo jets, vanished out to sea Sunday afternoon, leaving millions of people with the stunned feeling they had been hit by an avalanche.

By Sunday morning, the storm had dropped two feet of snow in parts of Long Island, crippling highways and commuter trains and marooning 150 early morning riders near Farmingdale, N.Y., for more five hours while drifts piled up around them. More than 800 flights at the three major New York City Airports were canceled even after the runways and taxiways were plowed.

Washington, which seldom gets much snow, broke its December record, with 16 inches at Reagan National Airport. And Philadelphia had its second largest snowfall, 23.2 inches, since it began keeping records in 1884.

Airports were slowly struggling back to a semblance of normalcy. By Sunday morning, Dulles International outside Washington was handling arriving flights while still plowing away a thick blanket of snow, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport was trying to restore full operations.

The storm hit two days before the start of winter, the shortest day of the year. Mr. Gadomski said that an unusual amount of arctic air in the Central United States and Canada was greeted by a moisture laden storm that came up from Florida and the encounter produced a powerful cocktail of wind and snow, particularly on its southern edge.

Hundreds of thousands of people lost power as the storm swept eastward on Friday and Saturday, including 135,000 customers in West Virginia served by Appalachian Power, a division of American Electric Power. That company also reported 19,456 outages in Tennessee on Saturday afternoon, and its Kentucky division reported 69,400 in that state. Laura Southard, of Virginias Department of Emergency Management, said at least 71,000 were without power on Saturday afternoon. In parts of western North Carolina, where the storm struck Friday evening, more than 60,000 customers were without power on Saturday.

Transportation was disrupted all along the coast, causing thousands of flights to be canceled across the country, knocking out power lines and stranding motorists during the peak of the holiday shopping and travel season. Greyhound canceled service on 294 routes through Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., and discontinued service in and out of New York City around 8 p.m. Saturday, said Maureen Richmond, a spokeswoman.

The mayor of Washington, Adrian M. Fenty, declared a snow emergency, following the state of emergency that Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia declared on Friday in advance of the storm. By Saturday afternoon, Gov. Martin OMalley of Maryland, Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mayor Michael A. Nutter of Philadelphia had also declared emergencies.

The deaths of at least five people — three in Virginia and two in Ohio in traffic accidents or through exposure — were blamed on the storm.

In New York City, Mr. Bloomberg said in a morning news conference that no one was injured as a result of the storm.

For instance, because Long Island was closer to the supply of moisture, Mr. Gadomski said, it was struck by a far heavier snowfall.

At least one branch of the Long Island Rail Road was shut down for much of Sunday, and others were hit with extremely limited service. Possibly the worst of the delays jangled nerves for 150 pre-dawn commuters on the 2:53 a.m. train from Penn Station. It was due in to Ronkonkoma at 4:14 a.m. but was stranded for several hours.

Duration : 0:2:4


[youtube 0SHbpmn32i8]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dean-martin-let-it-snow/feed/ 0 Off Piste skiing in St. Anton am Arlberg – 2009-12-21 http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/off-piste-skiing-in-st-anton-am-arlberg-2009-12-21/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/off-piste-skiing-in-st-anton-am-arlberg-2009-12-21/#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:29:21 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/off-piste-skiing-in-st-anton-am-arlberg-2009-12-21 Continue reading →]]> An unexpected dump of some fresh powder snow surprised everybody on this the shortest day of the year, we where lucky enough to be on the right spot before everybody else and got plenty of untraced powder skiing down some of the easy accessible off-piste runs in St. Anton am Arlberg.

Duration : 0:1:15


[youtube ERETSMmE9_w]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/off-piste-skiing-in-st-anton-am-arlberg-2009-12-21/feed/ 1 Kentucky Green River whole year timelapse http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/kentucky-green-river-whole-year-timelapse/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/kentucky-green-river-whole-year-timelapse/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:46:27 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/kentucky-green-river-whole-year-timelapse Continue reading →]]> One picture at the same time almost every day for a year. Green River in Kentucky at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Music by rjmarshall makes the video.

There’s lot to see here for the observant. Timing of different trees leafing out in the spring and dropping leaves in the fall; the redbud blossoms; the river falling and rising; the progression of shadows with the season; snow days; all kinds of weather; branches drooping under weight of leaves; etc. etc. etc.

The video is Copyright 2008 by egb13 and licensed to you under terms of the CC-BY-3.0 license found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/ ; Audio is under a separate license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/

Duration : 0:1:38


[youtube x3TR-o7dnlY]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/kentucky-green-river-whole-year-timelapse/feed/ 8 Dual Holiday Displays Coexist in Raleigh’s Moore Square http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dual-holiday-displays-coexist-in-raleighs-moore-square/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dual-holiday-displays-coexist-in-raleighs-moore-square/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:32:15 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dual-holiday-displays-coexist-in-raleighs-moore-square Continue reading →]]> December 21, 2009 on News 14 Carolina -

RALEIGH For the past several years, a Nativity scene has gone up in downtown Raleighs Moore Square during the holiday season depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.

But this year it has company. The Triangle Freethought Society, which is made up of atheists, non-theists and free thinkers, unveiled a winter solstice display marking the shortest and darkest day of the year, which lands on Dec. 21. Winter solstice typically marks the middle of winter with celebrations by ancient cultures around the world.

We felt it was important to have a counterbalance to that display this year, so we put a winter solstice display together, said Mark Zumbach, president of the Triangle Freethought Society. Our goal is to point out there are multiple reasons for celebrating the season.

via http://www.atheistmedia.com

-

Duration : 0:1:21


[youtube 5uMb29jkth4]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/dual-holiday-displays-coexist-in-raleighs-moore-square/feed/ 25 Burning Of The Clocks – Brighton Sea Front http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-of-the-clocks-brighton-sea-front/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-of-the-clocks-brighton-sea-front/#comments Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:21:21 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-of-the-clocks-brighton-sea-front Not brilliant quality, but a great old Sussex Tradition.

Burning the Clocks on the shortest day of the year ensures that the days start to get longer!

Duration : 0:8:36


[youtube oaerjzTP2zg]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/burning-of-the-clocks-brighton-sea-front/feed/ 0 Winter Solstice in the Arctic. Fairbanks, Alaska Time-lapse video. http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/winter-solstice-in-the-arctic-fairbanks-alaska-time-lapse-video-3/ http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/winter-solstice-in-the-arctic-fairbanks-alaska-time-lapse-video-3/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:32:30 +0000 admin http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/winter-solstice-in-the-arctic-fairbanks-alaska-time-lapse-video-3 Continue reading →]]> January 2, 2010. This time-lapse video shows the entire day (4 hours and 5 minutes) in less than two minutes. It was shot after the actual Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere on December 21). Only 100 miles from the Arctic Circle, this video looks south at spruce trees and shows sunrise through sunset. Copyright Eric Muehling 2009. All rights reserved. Available in high-definition. Original frames were shot in 10-second intervals with a Canon D30 SLR (raw format).

Duration : 0:1:22


[youtube oSnJfxd0yE0]

]]> http://www.solsticedev.com/shortest-day-of-the-year/winter-solstice-in-the-arctic-fairbanks-alaska-time-lapse-video-3/feed/ 2