Eclipse

During the break between classes tonight I had the chance to glance up and see the lunar eclipse. Perfect night for it---clear sky, great visibility. It was weird to watch the perfect arc move across the full moon. It was beautiful in a peaceful sort of way, and lots of others were out there watching it too. My earlier class had ended a little early so I had a good half hour to get into it. A well-needed injection of natural phenomena into my otherwise crammed Wednesday.

Then, I went into my Chinese history class, and the instructor mentioned how eclipses were bad omens for the ancient dynasties---they could signal distress or even the eminent collapse---one had actually happened right before the fall of the northern Song. Hmmm... considering there's been a Bush or Clinton on every ticket since the year I was born, might we be seeing the end of a dynasty here in our own land? (Well, of course, until the next dynasty eventually takes charge... History does have that nagging way of repeating itself...)