Rack 'Em

Phew! I made it out alive! I feel like utter crap-ola, but I think somehow I may just make it out semi-alive. Hooray for drinking!
So yesterday was the bridal shower. Why do I always start my sentences with so? Anyways, bridal showers are fun. There was delicious appetizers (shrimp and veggies and spinach/artichoke dip and li'l smokies and mozzarella sticks) and even more delicious mimosas. Plus I finally gotted (yep, gotted is a word in RM dictamanary) to see Taylor and Sarah (Christine's sis, not myself) and Carla and Sheila, so that was awesome. I love my NC girls! And Sheila's like my own mom in southern form, a wee weird since she's actually from Cali and currently living in Live-No-More. She wants to have lunch since she isn't working now and she lives about 5 minutes from my work... I think that can be arranged. I know she misses her girls and would love to see me more, so I should really make more of an effort to see her and Dani.
After the shower we all came back to the house to wind down and prepare for the drinking. Carla and Taylor had gone straight to Rack 'Em, so we went to meet them there. Maybe 6ish? More like 7. Pretty early, in other words. Carla bought everyone the first drink of the night - a shot of SoCo and lime juice. It was actually pretty good! Then we moved to the beers. I had a couple of New Castles (guys at the bar kept buying us rounds-it was freakin awesome!) and then too many Surfers. A guy that was far too old kept trying to talk to me and I am too polite so I talked back to him. We attempted to ditch the old guys at some point and traversed to the Sand Bar across the way for some karaoke good times but they followed. One of the regulars Bobby was kind enough to take us under his wing to get their attentions to some of the other single girls there. Thank goodness, they were pretty irritating. And one of them was actually a guys who broke Lizzie's leg 2 weeks ago at a club downtown! Apparently he claimed to have been a Chip n Dale's dancer 20 years ago, so she was dancing with him and she threw her leg up over his shoulder and when she went to put her leg down he knocked her over and broke her leg. Oops! So she was supposed to officiate the wedding but that seems pretty difficult in a full leg cast so I have been designated to help her out. No problem! Anything for my baby-girl! Except that I don't really know all (or any) of the details... I'll do the best I can.
So eventually I had had enough beer and the peeps were getting sleepy... Tina and Jeff wanted their own bed back which they were nice enough to offer me the previous night, so I went and stayed at Carla's. We went back there with Taylor, some guy I don't remember the name of, Bobby, and Mark (oh lala Carla!) and drank more beer and listened to my favorite music ever for many hours! Yay country! They kept singing, it was horrendously awesome. They kept saying "Welcome to the South!" It was hilarious. And awful. But mostly hilarious.
Sleep was a good idea to me at some point, so I laid down while they continued the sing fest in the front room. When I awoke, I had no cell phone so I had to wait for the other drunkies to wake up so I could call anybody to come get me... the only cars were Bobby's and Mark's and Bobby wasn't there and Mark was in with Carla (oh lala Carla!) so I played the waiting game until Carla finally got up at like 2 and I called Christine and she had Jeff come pick me up.
Ok, Jeff just claimed I'm writing War and Peace over here, so I better wrap it up! The end is now, full of eggs and bacy and excedrin and water. Thank you Jeff! The bestest hst in the west... errr... east!
~*~Raevyn Mystique~*~

Sleep Is For The Weak!

Yay for North Carolina! I finally made it! I thought I'd never get here, but I did. I am totally and utterly exhausted but I don't even care. I miss my Tina-Bina!
So I left Oakland at about 10:30 last night and flew into Atlanta. Pretty uneventful flight, really. There was a plane-newbie sitting next to me who kept asking all sorts of questions, but she was a super cute teen from New Orleans so it was all right. I like meeting new people from new places, and I had the window seat so who can complain?!? There was actually a movie on the flight-Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Wererabbit, but the story got lost on me when my right headphone wouldn't receive any sound unless I manually held the jack in the plug 0.333 of the way in and that wasn't going to happen so yeah, I slept. Woo sleep! Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it sleep since it was on a plane and I probably didn't get the best sleep ever, but I don't remember the movie ending, so yay!
Atlanta was exciting. Ok, I'm an awful liar! I spent over 3.5 hrs there with a crap-load of guys in army gear. Maybe 90% of the terminal were different colored uniforms... I guess everyone's going home for the holidays?
So I fall asleep in the terminal after people watching for an hour or so and wake up right before my flight should be boarding. Emphasis on the should be. Apparently we were one flight attendant short for a long while because we were delayed an hour. It was a pretty Georgian sunrise and that's the end of that story.
The rest of the trip was spent on a teeny tiny plane to Wilmington with maybe 60 people on it. My first time ever actually going up the stairs from the outside! Teehee! So that was only an additional 50 minute trip and I sorta slept thru that as well. Both flights were clear skied and bump free... and my throat feels divine so that's a good sign!
The rest of the day was lounging, eating/drinking at a pub downtown, and shopping at the Cotton Exchange and then a quick jaunt to the mall.
So now it's movie time! Tina just ordered The Ring 2/Ringu double feature. Yep, I'm sleepin well tonight!
~*~Raevyn Mystique~*~

Welcome To My World

The sky is broken and I think it’ll take a little more than a vaccine to sculpt it all back together… it’s the festering neon distractions that bring me to you in these porcelain twilights… but it’s not like you killed someone… dysfunctional lullabies masquerading as pop songs swim the turbulent waters by our side… control abounds with Excalibur in your hand and my insecure vibrations become highlighted under the luminous shadow of your dominance… the balance profound even to me… if I’m killed by the questions like a cancer then I’ll be buried in the silence of the answer… I’d take your steady hand and surrender all control to this desire that consumes me whole if the cosmos so decreed… I’d proudly soar your oceans of the Underworld if it promised this orgasmic Prozac high forever… I know I’m no angel, but does that mean I won’t fly?... but always with a Blink ~ everything’s been augmented and you’re left behind, I’m left behind… again… just a lonely soul in a mysterious sky… Brutally Faithless… and I’m so lonely I don’t even want to be with myself anymore… meet me in Outer Space – we could spend the night watching earth come up… I need you to see this place!... but my stellar garlands that adorn this Armageddon are guarded by tattooed junkies and playboy mommies… by my weaknesses… by me… in the Shadow boy meets man… somehow you sneak past when you caress my paper cut wounds – challenging my everything until there’s a crack in the wall… I tried to find bliss in ignorance, but your tainted purity eclipsed my quest… that matured and worn innocence you have locked inside your layers of atmospheric wisdom… behind the prison bars your maladjusted scales scream under the weight of your gained insight acquired from years of built up trial-and-error experience… of mistakes long since learned from… but it appears even a feather could outweigh the crumb of spiritual intuition remaining on the opposite tray… Chaos lurks in the adjoining cell for that final crumb to combust… your Fallen Angel… I am your pollution manifested in perpetual sound… a Dark Chylde seeking to bring you back the light I fear I’ll never find for myself… just as you are my Lost Reality, I am to you a succubus of sorts, designed to lead you off your path… the sun goes down… I feel the light betray me… I know I’m not perfect… but I can smile….

~*~Raevyn Mystique~*~

On Another Note...

Go here for some hilarities, c/o Sierrera (miss you!).
If I actually felt better, I might type some interesting occurrances from Las Vegas. Quite frankly, I feel like utter crap and I'm not even sure why I came to work today 'cept that I need the money (yep, good ol' clutch has finally started to slip) and really had nothing better to do. Mayhaps in the later-ons I will divulge some (and boy do I mean SOME) Vegas secrets, seeing as how the Loge-sters (aka Logan) got us all hooked up with the internet yesterday.
All looped up on DayQuil (WOO!),
~*~Raevyn Mystique~*~

Sounds Good To Me...

This movie was recommended to me via Myspace by a friend of mine... anyone interested in a SF trek to the movies?
http://www.redvicmoviehouse.com/show.php?pageid=249

Secession to Lust

Approach the hours of midnight doom,
Where eyes of lust control the room
And from the bowels of Society's gloom,
Innocent passion devours the womb.

A dark echo lullaby song
Fills sinful halls of every wrong
As Evil sharpens His final prong~
Each second outlasting eternities long.

Truth sees through the layers of flair,
Disguised as demons determined to scare
Who beckon with their hypnotic glare
For those wanting in to the mysterious lair.

With morals forgotten, the Angel lies cold~
Releasing the mind from Reality's hold.
Only now could a soul to the Devil be sold,
Transforming the weak into statues of gold.

The prison gates open without any heed,
Exposing Shadows of Chaos in chains to be freed.
The key to this liberty revolves with great speed
Once finished obtaining Humanity's greed.

Infinite fantasies will continue to rot,
For Dragon an Mermaid beliefs, there are not~
And Moon-Dancing Faeries are nearly forgot~
Until Creativity is encouraged in thought.

Lack of Imagination will leave Dreams bleak,
Saving space for later emotions to speak
Of seductive tangos from yesterday's sleek
Or the whip of zephyrs for tomorrow's meek.

The senses are organized and built on ties~
Study the shape with questioning eyes,
It guides lingering fingers to match sight and size...
Together Visual and Touch will reveal bluer skies.

Sensuality is shared without needing a sign,
Bringing euphoric caresses that feel wholly divine;
It crawls onto the flesh and down through the spine,
Weaving over both bodies like a creeping vine.

The tingling goodness from inside the core
Errupts in a flash with a satisfied roar.
Clouds of ecstasy never visited before
Unite these two beings in a heap on the floor.

To manipulate the realm, remember the flow:
The line that lies between friend and foe
Blurs at the edges to form status quo,
Suppressing the love that yearns to grow.

If anonymous masks of statuesque stone
Are removed, the vulnerable left standing alone,
Then Love's Embrace can take over the throne~
Inhibitions forced off of the road that is known.

To pick the right path can easily fail,
There are countless walls to the mental jail;
Each must collapse so Fate's Train can derail~
Waters of Destiny drowning what will entail.

Written by ~*~Raevyn Mystique~*~

Enjoy the Silence

She's on the ground, blonde hair a messy halo around her hidden face. You can't see any facial features or expressions, but you know exactly how she looks. Her troubled green eyes search frantically over the ground directly beneath her, searching for anything but the grey concrete that resides there. You're too far away to see anything but the smooth, hard surface. You're too far away to see what it she's looking for. She begins to shiver, her naked skin turning blue from the cold.

Precursor to the Dream

From House of Leaves, by Mark Z Danielewski:

I get a glass of water. I walk out into the hallway. That's a mistake. I should of stayed near people. The comfort of company and all that. Instead I'm alone, running through a quick mental check list: food poisoning? (stomach's fine) withdrawals? (haven't been on a gak or Ecstacy diet for several months, and while I didn't smoke any pot this morning-my usual ritual-I know THC doesn't create any lasting physical dependencies). And then out of the be-fucking-lue, everything gets substantially darker. Not pitch black, mind you. Not even power failure black. More like a cloud passing over the sun. Make that a storm. Though there is no storm. No clouds. It's a bright day and anyway I'm inside.
I wish that had been all. Just a slight decrease in illumination and a little breathing difficulty. Could still blame that on a blown fuse or some aberrant drug related flashback. But then my nostrils flare with the scent of something bitter & foul, something inhuman, reeking with so much rot & years, telling me in the language of nausea that I'm not alone.
Something's behind me.
Of course, I deny it.
It's impossible to deny.
I wanna puke.

To get a better idea, try this: focus on these words, and whatever you do don't let your eyes wander past the perimeter of this page. Now imagine just beyond your peripheral vision, maybe behind you, maybe to the side of you, maybe even in front of you, but right where you can't see it, something is quietly closing in on you, so quiet in fact you can only hear it as silence. Find those pockets without sound. That's where it is. Right at this moment. But don't look. Keep your eyes here. Now take a deep breath. Go ahead and take an even deeper one. Only this time as you start to exhale try to imagine how fast it will happen, how hard it's gonna hit you, how many times it will stab your jugular with its teeth or are they nails?, don't worry, that particular detail doesn't matter, because before you have time to even process that you should be moving, you should be running, you should at the very least be flinging up your arms-you sure as hell should be getting rid of this book-you won't have time to even scream.
Don't look.
I didn't.
Of course I looked.
I looked so fucking fast I should of ended up wearing one of those neck braces for whiplash.
My hands had gone all clammy. My face was burning up. Who knows how much adrenaline had just been dumped into my system. Before I turned, it felt exactly as if in fact I had turned and at that instant caught sight of some tremendous beast crouched off in the shadows, muscles a twitch from firing its great mass forward, ragged claws slowly extending, digging into the linoleum, even as its eyes are dilating, beyond the point of reason, completely obliterating the iris, and by that widening fire, the glowing furnace of witness, a camera lucide, with me in silhouette, like some silly Hand shadow twitching about upside down, is that right?, or am I getting confused?, either way registering at last the sign it must have been waiting for: my own recognition of exactly what has been awaiting me all along-except that when I finally do turn, jerking around like the scared-shitless shit-for-brains I am, I discover only a deserted corridor, or was it merely a recently deserted corridor?, this thing, whatever it had been, obviously beyond the grasp of my imagination or for that matter my emotions, having departed into alcoves of darkness, seeping into corners & floors, cracks & outlets, gone even to the walls. Lights now normal. The smell history. Though my fingers still tremble and I've yet to stop choking on large irregular gulps of air, as I keep spinning around like a stupid top spinning around on top of nothing, looking everywhere, even though there's absolutely nothing, nothing anywhere.
I actually thought I was going to fall, and then just as abruptly as I'd been possessed by this fear, it left me and I fell back into control.


These were the words I read before requesting sleep.
Then came the Dreams...

Happy New Year!

A day late, but not forgotten!

November the First marks one of two special days in Pagan history - the Celtic New Year. The Celts divided the year into two seasons: one of Light and one of Dark (you can just as easily say that it was divided into four quarters so as to include Imbolc and Lughnasadh). Beltane is celebrated in the early summer (May 1st) and Samhain (say "Sah-Wane") is celebrated in the early winter (November 1st). Just as the Celtic day begins with the night, the Celtic year begins with Samhain, when the cycle is renewed. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with dawn celebrations, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st (known today of course, as Halloween).

The Celts were influenced principally by the lunar and stellar cycles which governed the agricultural year - beginning and ending in autumn when the crops have been harvested and the soil is prepared for the winter.

In Scots Gaelic, Samhain literally means “summer's end.” With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year - so the night before became popularly known as Halloween or All Hallows Eve. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, Pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry (yep, GRE word put to use! Woo!) of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.

Samhain was also a time for contemplation. Death was never very far away, yet to die was not the tragedy it is in modern times. Of signal importance to the Celts was to die with honor and to live in the memory of the tribe and be honored at the great feast (in Ireland this would have been the Fleadh nan Mairbh (Feast of the Dead)) which took place on Samhain Eve.

This was the most magickal time of the year - Samhain was the day that didn't exist! At night, the great shield of Skathach was lowered, allowing the barriers between the worlds to fade and the forces of chaos to invade the realms of order, the material world conjoining with the world of the dead. At this time, the spirits of the dead and those yet to be born walked with the living. The dead could return to the places where they lived and food and entertainment were provided in their honor. This aspect of the festival was never totally subdued by Christianity.

In the three days preceding the Samhain month the Sun God, Lugh, dies by the hand of his Tanist (his other self, the Lord of Misrule). Lugh traverses the boundaries of the worlds on the first day of Samhain. His Tanist is a miser and though he shines brightly in the winter sky, he gives no warmth and does not temper the breath of the Crone, the north wind. This may be discerned as the ageless battle between light and dark and the cyclic nature of life and the seasons.

When the Romans made contact with the Celts, they added their feast of the dead to Samhain. The Christians subverted the recognition of Samhain to honor the saints, as All Saint's Day on November 1st and named October 31 as All Hallow's Eve. This later became a secular holiday by the name of Hallowe'en. Although using different nomenclatures, all of these festivals and feasts are celebrating the accessibility, veneration, awe, and respect of the dead.

Source cited: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, Happy New Year, everybody!

Blessed Be,
~*~Raevyn Mystique~*~

House of Leaves, Take 4

It is time that I finish this book. It is the most horrific thing I have attempted to read thus far. The first three times I started it, I made it about 100 pages before the lonliness started to pull me in. Everytime I pick the book back up again I think the same thing to myself: it's just a book. I don't mean to go NeverEnding Story on your asses, but it somehow feels like so much more. Perhaps it is the time and effort you (as the reader) must commit to... the layout of the book itself becomes more and more non-linear as the pages turn. I have recommended this book to a number of people, most of whom have finished the book. I make yet another attempt to join their ranks. A book. About a house. Doesn't seem so intimidating now, does it?

Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves by Zampan'o with introduction and notes by Johnny Truant

"Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth-musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies-the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children.
Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and newly added second and third appendices.
The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily bgan to return another story-of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all of their dreams."

-From the inside cover of House of Leaves

Since I have no idea how to post specific things in a different color, I have italicized those items which appear blue in the book.

Anyways, let's hope my sanity does not wane in reading the book (again).

Wish me luck!
*Raevyn Mystique*

Mmmm... Alcohol

Thanks to my BFF for turning me back on to lame and time-consuming quizzes (hey, it passes the time, right?)

Bourbon Congratulations! You're 106 proof, with specific scores in beer (40) , wine (66), and liquor (78).

Screw all that namby-pamby chick stuff, you're going straight for the bottle and a shot glass! It'll take more than a few shots of Wild Turkey or 99 Bananas before you start seeing pink elephants. You know how to handle your alcohol, and yourself at parties.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 14% on proof You scored higher than 63% on beer index You scored higher than 74% on wine index You scored higher than 76% on liquor index

Link: The Alcohol Knowledge Test written by hoppersplit on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Bored At Work (c/o My Sissy)

THIS IS THE NEW VERSION OF GETTING TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS. YOU KNOW HOW THIS WORKS COPY & PASTE, ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS. SEND IT TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS

LETS BE HONEST NOW!

Last person who...

1. Slept in your bed: He who must not be mentioned. What’s done is done.
2. Saw you cry: I think it was Mario, actually! At Dave and Busters I decided it would be an awesome idea to have a nervous breakdown! Stupid quitting smoking!
3. Made you cry: Person, eh? That same stupid guy who last slept in my bed. We cried together, it was very sad and emotional and all that crap. Again with the “what’s done is done.”
4. You went to the movies with: I do believe that person is Simone – hooray for The Corpse Bride!
5. You went to the mall with: I can’t even think of the last time I went to the mall! It was prolly with my Mom.
6. One thing you could take back: Letting my heart get broken by the same guy on 4 separate occasions. Never again.

Have You Ever...

1. Said "I Love You" and meant it: A million times – I love a lot of people!
2. Gotten in a fight with your pet: Like a fist fight? No!
3. Been to California: I’m not even going to answer that, it’s a silly question really!
4. Been to Mexico: Not yet…
5. Been to China: Not one of those places that’s on my list, so no.
6.Been to Canada: In 1986 for the World’s Fair.
7. Been to Europe: For 3 weeks when I was a Sophomore/Junior in HS I traveled to France with my French class. C’est tres magnifique! That’s about all I can remember. That and Ou sont les toilettes? Haha. 15 and legal to drink? Of course I can’t remember!
8. Danced naked: Who hasn’t? Everything is more fun naked, hello!
9. Wish you were the opposite sex: Not really, I think girls are prettier (and I like the sex with the boys).

.........

1. Do you have a crush on someone: Yes, but I wish I could say no.
2. What book are you reading now: How To Study For The GREs
3. Worst feeling in the world: Hurting someone else. Especially when you’re consciously aware that you are doing it.
4. Future KIDS names: Like, goats? I’m not sure I want to have kids (unless you mean goats) – I sure don’t want to raise any little me’s, my parents did great, but I’m pretty sure I’d go crazy! I do like the name Alexander (ie, Xander) for a boy and something equally wacky like Zoey for a girl.
5. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal: A giant raccoon that was won at Dave and Busters on my 21st b-day. I think everyone contributed to the buying, I’m not too sure tho. I do know some people told me to pick something out and all I could see through the blurred dizziness was a giant raccoon. Good thing I like raccoons!
6. What's under your bed: Shhhh!
7. Favorite sport to watch: Poker Tourneys. Does that count? Ok, soccer.
8. Location: L’isle de Provence, France
9. Piercings/Tattoos: 10-ear, 1-bellybutton, 1 hole in my eyebrow, 1 hole in my tongue, 1 hole in my tragus (?), 1 tattoo on my lower back
10. Do you drink: I wish I drank more! But only if I wouldn’t become an alcoholic.
11. What are you most scared of: Not becoming an astrophysicist. I’m pretty sure that will kill me.
12. Where do you want to get married: On the beach would be nice.
13. Who do you really hate: Elizabeth. There, I said it. I hate her for what she did to me. And I don’t hate anyone. I wish I never met her. And I don’t regret anything.
14. Do you have a job: I'm at it right now, can't you tell how exciting it is? ß My sis wrote that and I’ll have to agree.
15. Do you like being around people: I s’pose it depends on the people. But generally, yes.
16. Have you ever liked someone you had no chance with: Yeah, and then he dumped me 4 times. He was that guy in high school that every girl dreams of. I guess I had a slight chance with him, but I wouldn’t say that it counts.
17. Have you ever cried: Not as much these days. Except during sad movies or nervous breakdowns. If you smoke, never quit. If you watch movies, don’t see House of Sand and Fog.
18. Are you lonely right now: No way!
19. Song that's stuck in your head a lot: Since the beginning of time? Prolly What’s Up by the Four Non Blondes (weird, right?) But recently? I’d have to go with Soul Meets Body by Death Cab For Cutie.

Have you:

1. Been in love: One time. He’s moving to Wyoming next month and I haven’t gone to see him since I found out. He was the love of my life and I lost him. We lost each other, really. But he makes an awesome best friend! He knows me better than anyone in the world.
2. Played strip poker: Oh yeah, all the time. That’s what happens when you run out of money.
3. Gotten beaten up: Physically, no. Emotionally, two times.
4. Pulled an all nighter: Those who know me will understand that I will refrain from answering this. I still will if sex is involved. Damn, was that out loud?
5. Been on radio/tv: Yes, when I was like 12 I thought it would be awesome to get on the radio so I requested songs virtually every day. Pretty sad.
6. Been in a mosh-pit: My first was the Beastie Boys when I was 13. Somehow I made it! Woo! Bring it on, baby!
7. Do you have any gay/lesbian friends: I surely do!

In the last 24 Hours have you...

1. Cried: Yep (see above answer regarding House of Sand and Fog)
2. Bought something: Dad’s rx, stuff to make cake for our work potluck tomorrow, Taco Bell.
4. Sang: If it’s a whisper-sing, then I am singing currently.
5. Been kissed: Unfortunately, no.
6. Had sex: Again with the unfortunate no.
7. Felt stupid: Nope.
8. Talked to an ex: No.
9. Missed someone: See above note regarding the love of my life.
10. Hugged someone: Yes! I had lunch with Josh yesterday!

Why Is The Sky Blue?

Asking this question all throughout my life, it wasn't until within the last year that I finally got an answer that was satisfying! No other question is asked more frequently to shrugging parents who are lucky to know the basic idea behind Rayleigh Scattering (see also the Tyndall Effect).

The basic idea is that on a nice and clear day, the sky appears blue because nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter the red light. Similarly, during a sunset we see mostly reds and oranges because the blue light is scattered away from sight.

Ok so this is all fine and dandy and enlightening - whatever. But it leaves a little to be desired. So yay for electromagnetism! Who ever said I learned nothing from that class? Right, that would be me, but lookie here!

It is the sharp frequency dependence of the power formula that accounts for the blueness of the sky (FYI: I would include actual equations here if I had the slightest idea how to type them in the blog - sorry folks... suffice it to say that the total power radiated is directly proportional to the fourth power of omega/frequency). Sunlight passing through the earth's atmosphere stimulates atoms to oscillate as tiny dipoles. Although the incident solar radiation covers a broad range of frequencies (the sun acts as a blackbody radiator - ie, sunlight is categorized as white light), the energy that is absorbed and reradiated by the atmospheric dipoles is stronger at the higher frequencies (because of that w^4 previously mentioned). This basically means that it is more intense in the blue than in the red (since blue light has a shorter wavelength and thusly a higher frequency/energy than red light). It is this reradiated light that you see when you look up in the sky.

For sunsets, the light comes in at a tangent to the surface of the earth and so must pass through a larger area of the atmosphere than the light oming in from overhead. So in a simila argument to mine above, much of the blue has been removed by scattering and what is leftover is red.

Damn, I need to go back to school. This shit is way too interesting to be writing in a blog (esp when y'all prolly don't even care).

Happy physics-ing!

*~*Raevyn Mystique~*~

(with much help from Dr. Weston and Griffiths Electromagnetism)

Does It work Now?

You know me... I love to be owned!
Ok for a test, we shall submit a list of cds that I seriously need to invest in OR ELSE! (In no particular order)
Depeche Mode - The Singles 81-85
Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell
Depeche Mode - Catching Up With Depeche Mode
The Cure - Japanese Whispers
Death Cab For Cutie
System of a Down (November) - Hypnotize (?)
Daft Punk - Human After All
Ozo Motley
Nina Simone
Orbital - (the one with Halcyon)
Erasure - Pop! The First 20 Hits
OMD
The Pixies
Skankin' Pickle - Skankin' Pickle Fever (someone somewhere in Chico ended up with this one)
Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (see above note re: Chico)
Sublime - 40 oz to Freedom (I'm pretty sure Jordan stole this from me)
Flogging Molly
Bjork
Ok, enough is enough! I can obviously go on forever.
This was just a test. (I know it says the other one was just a test but shhh)

Testing, testing, 1...2...3...

Anyone out there?