The light IS coming!

November 29, 2015.
Sunset 4:52 PM. San Francisco, CA

Almost at the low point. We are approaching the lower end of the curve for the earliest sunset of the year.

At this latitude,  the sunset has lingered at the same time for several days in a row. And at 4:52PM, it’s one minute away from the earliest sunset, which will occur on December 1st.

The sun will then continue to set at 4:51 until mid December, when it will tip forward and continue to creep later into the evening.  However, the days continue to grow even shorter until the Solstice because  the sun continues to rise later and later each day.

The light is coming!

Where have all the goblins gone?

October 31, 2015
Sunset 6:13PM. Oakland, CA


Halloween madness with some amazing birds and a couple of princesses- one ballerina and one with a bucket.

First sunset

October 29, 2015 
Sunset 6:15PM. Alameda, CA 

 
Farewell my dear friend. I'd hoped to find or be somewhere nice at sunset this evening, but I was in my car in an unfamiliar neighborhood- So this is it- an ordinary street on the first sunset with no Sally in the world.

Blood Moon Total Eclipse- (you just can't see it yet)

September 27, 2015. 
Sunset 7:01 PM. San Francisco 

Today was the day- Sunrise and sunset were both at 7:01-
slicing the day in half.
I lured Norman and my nephew Paul from Montana up onto the roof with the expectation that we would all see the partially eclipsed blood moon rising opposite the sunset this evening. Too bad there were all those buildings and trees in the way. The plan was to watch the sun set into the ocean (fog along the horizon obscured that) and then to turn around and see what would have been a 3/4 eclipsed moon rising behind us.

Well, you can imagine it, and it was really nice up on the
roof anyway.

The last few minutes of light

September 23, 2015. San Francisco
Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 7:07 PM

Fall Equinox (equal day and night at the equator). At this latitude, however, we still have a few extra minutes of light.  Our day of equal light and darkness- the Equilux- arrives on the 26th or 27th depending on the source. Stay tuned.

Celebrating Sunset #25,568

Sunset 8:04 PM. August 15, 2015
San Francisco


How many times has the sun set during your lifetime so far?
Norman was born on August 14, 1945,the day Japan surrendered to the Allies. We celebrated his birthday this evening while he was out enjoying one of his favorite things: driving around in his car. 
Happy 70th Birthday and Happy 25,568th Sunset!

Old friends- vicarious sunset

Sunset 6:00 PM. July 2, 2015
Quepos (near Manuel Antonio), Costa Rica

From Joe: Here’s where I was standing-

Joe was one of my brother's best friends, and they spent many a wild day together in their youth before setting down to family life. We have stayed in touch since my brother passed away several years ago, and here is a sunset Joe sent from a recent family trip to Costa Rica.

The last of the latest

July 3, 2015. Sunset 8:31 PM
Brooklyn, NY

This it: the end of the latest sunsets (10 in a row) for the year in Brooklyn. Now we begin turning in towards less light from both ends. Fortunately, it still feels like a lot of light and the progression is pretty gradual. Plus the kids still have a lot of summer left and don’t really care about any of this.

Speaking of kids, there is some ecstatic bell ringing and little Doppler near end of this.

Congratulations Mia and Neil

June 27 2015. Sunset 8:31 PM
Long Island City, NY

Wedding bells!

Solstice Sunset at Garden of Memory

Sunset 8:34 PM. Oakland, CA
June 21, 2015

ckusalsa from YouTube shot a better quality video than I did so I hope they don't mind my sharing it here. The whole evening was amazing. Many thanks to Sarah Cahill and all the other performers who made it possible.

And hooray and thanks to all who participated in the sunset bell ringing. What a fabulous noise!!

Happy Summer Solstice - loud and clear!

Sunset 8:34 PM. Chapel of the Chimes 
June 21, 2015. Solstice. Oakland, CA  
My video of the sunset bell ringing didn't turn out too bad after all so here is another view of the sunset observance. It was really great!

Earliest Sunrise Bottoms Out

June 10, 2015 

Sunrise 5:47 AM. San Francisco, CA

Beginning today and for the next 9 days, the sunrise will be at its earliest moment for the year (at this latitude). By the Solstice, it will already have been rising later, squeezing daylight away from the morning side of things.

I love how this happens. The longest day is on the Solstice, but that is not because it is the earliest sunrise and latest sunset of the year. It’s not that symmetrical. Check out this chart from 2008 to see how rates of slowdown and expansion work for each end of the day and enjoy the sound of the earliest sunrise of the year. (It’s been the same every year so far)

Listen. It was raining this morning!!!

If you are interested in finding out when sunrise in your location “bottoms out”, go to sunrisesunset.com and plug in your location.

May Day May Day

May 1, 2015

Sunrise 6:15 AM.

Although it may seem trivial or silly in the light of the tremendous weight and darkness and horror of what is happening in the world, Lucy, my goldfish of 20 years passed away recently. She outlived 2 companions, several tumors and spent the last year and a half partially paralyzed from a stroke. An enthusiastic eater and cheerful companion to the end - we miss her.

Sunset 7:59 PM

 
The Cardew Choir celebrated their 14^th Anniversary with a concert this evening at Berkeley Arts. Named in honor and in the spirit of Cornelius Cardew, the ensemble is deeply committed to values of community and egalitarianism and May Day is an especially significant day as it commemorates International Workers Day. As always, I enjoyed the ensemble’s well-rehearsed performances and commitment to their original ideals and inspiration. Many thanks for beginning the evening with a sunset bell ringing!

Anzac Day 2015

April 25, 2015. 

Sunrise 6:21AM. Nobby’s Beach, New Castle, New South Wales

This sunrise video was taken by my friend, Lynne Piade at the Dawn Service commemoration of Anzac Day. Originally a day of remembrance for the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915, Anzac Day is a day of observance for all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all the “wars, conflictsand peace keeping operations”.

Good Morning Austin!

April 23, 2015. 
Sunrise 6:56 AM. Austin, TX.

Thank you Ginger Miles for this quiet, green morning. So many birds!

dirty cars and parched earth

April 22, 2015. Earth Day. 
Sunset 7:51PM. San Francisco.


My little piece of parched earth.

Is it Spring yet? Please

April 6, 2015
Sunset 7:24 PM. Brooklyn, NY 

Even though I announce the time and call it the sunrise- it’s really the sunset. 7:24 AM happens in deep, dark winter. And today felt like the tipping point into Spring- No buds on the trees yet and I know there will be one more snowfall this month (there always is) but it felt great!
I love these bells.

Light Balance

March 18, 2015

Sunrise and Sunset 7:04. Brooklyn, NY

  

This Friday, March 20^th we celebrate the first day of spring and the vernal Equinox. And unless you live at the equator, you should also be able to celebrate the fact that we have already passed into longer days. It may be only by a minute or two, but we’re headed into the light.

FYI-Another bonus is the supermoon that will rise on the evening of the 20^th. And if you live on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, you will have a great view of the total solar eclipse during the day. (partial eclipse location info here)

It’s an unusually big kick off this year- Happy Spring!

PS Nice photos of the supermoon

Sprung ahead 2015

March 8, 2015

Sunset 7:09 PM. San Francisco, CA

Well, this is the first of many sunsets in what has become the predominant time schedule for the year. Every year brings an outcry to kill off the sudden jolt to DST. However, as we now spend almost 8 months of the year observing Daylight Savings Time, while making only a brief nod to what used to be Standard time during the darkest days of the year, it doesn’t seem very likely we will stop. 

I do like the idea of a smooth, continuous cycling through the year- with no abrupt changes. But, which way would we go? Where would we stay? In Standard Time with earlier sunsets in the summer? I really enjoy those late night twilights. Or in Daylight Savings Time, where if we maintained it during the winter, it would still be dark at 8:00 in the morning.

SMIP: Syntex Made It Possible

March 4, 2015

Sunset 6:05 PM. Woodside, CA

Besides the revolution in reproductive freedom for women, the work and legacy of Carl Djerassi continues to make many things possible- including this gentle moment. Pauline Oliveros makes this sunset offering during a gathering at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program as part of the 20^th anniversary of Other Minds. 

  

More quiet times...one month later...

February 15, 2015

Sunset 5:34PM. Lambertville, NJ

 Sitting in same chairs. Watching same TV. Dog still sleeping.  What's changed? It's much colder outside. The sunset is 45 minutes later. There are 3 of us (besides the dog) ringing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (instead of Blue Bloods). 

Waking up the groundhog?

February 2, 2015
Sunrise 7:05 AM. Brooklyn, NY

Snowy and dark. No groundhogs in sight. Not a bad idea.

Quiet times

Sunset 4:58 PM. Lambertville, NJ

Just sharing a quiet moment at sunset in New Jersey with my dad, his friend’s poodle and Blue Bloods.

PS- If you would like to subscribe to the dailybell this year by contributing your own observations, please let me know by leaving a comment here. I will add you as an author to that blog and you can post as often as you like.

2015 Subscription plans

Today is the beginning of the 8th year of the dailybell!

This year, I would like to invite you to subscribe to the dailybell by making a non-monetary contribution.

This subscription is one where you contribute by pledging a day or series of days to observe and share a sunrise and/or sunset of your own. All you need to do is observe the sunrise/sunset of your choice and share it in some way. 

If you like, you can let me know that you would like to subscribe and I will add your name to those with posting privileges. Then you can post it yourelf, directly to the dailybell subscription blog. Please include at least the date, time and location. Any other information would be great!

Or you may want to share/post it with other dailybell observations on the dailybell sunwatch page on Facebook (if you have an account). 


THE SUBSCRIPTION PLANS:
1 day per year- good plan for commemorating a birthday, anniversary or dedication
___ sunrise
___ sunset
_________ date

1 day per month- a nice way to track the seasons and change of light
___ sunrise
___ sunset

1 day per week- dedicated practice
___ sunrise
___ sunset

daily- diehard
___ sunrise
___ sunset

As often or infrequently as you like
___ sunrise
___ sunset

If you would like to be a regular contributor and would like a reminder, please let me know.

Sunrise Sunset Calendar: Type in your location and it will tell you the times the sun rises and sets wherever you are.

New Year's Eve on Broadway in Brooklyn.

January 1, 2015. 

Followed by sunrise at 7:20AM from the same intersection. Ghost sounds of celebration linger into the morning.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, peaceful and fun 2015!

Season's Greetings!!

the tiny turnaround...

The sun set during my rush hour commute on Dec. 15 at 4:52 PM.  It was the first day of the turnaround, where the sun finally began setting later even as the sunrise continued to do the same, only at a faster pace. (Hence the still shrinking days). 

Now with the Solstice just past, we are surely heading towards the light. Hopefully with the holidays upon us, we can momentarily skip the daily commute and celebrate the season.

Best wishes and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Brenda

Bottoming Out!

November 30, 2014

Sunset 4:51 PM. San Francisco

Tonight is the earliest that the sun will set this year (for this latitude, at least). It will continue to set at 4:51 PM for the next 12 days before it once again opens up the day and begins to set later. All of this before the Winter Solstice. How can this be, you may ask. Ah, well :) The daylight continues to shrink because the sun is still rising later each day- eventually culminating on the shortest day a few weeks from now.

I love this graceful and uneven approach to the Solstice and hope you enjoy this little factoid as much as I do.

Whereforartthou?

October 4. Sunset 6:49 PM. Oakland, CA. 

photo: Tom Djll

The sun set during the load in and sound checks for the 17th Annual Music for People and Thingamajigs Festival- held this year at the Temescal ArtCenter. Congratulations and many thanks to everyone. It was a fun evening.

Goodnight Bill

Sunset 6:53 PM. October 2, 2014

5 years gone. We miss you Bill.

Happy Autumnal Equilux 2014!

Sunrise 7:01AM. Sunset 7:00 PM
September 27, 2014. San Francisco, CA

TADA!

At least for this latitude—Everyone further to the North, it’s coming your way!

This is the place where the iceman used to enter the house to make his deliveries. It’s a quiet zone that doesn’t change much from morning to evening and so it seemed an appropriate choice for this day of equilibrium.    

Tipping away from the light...

Sunset 7:08 PM. San Francisco
Sept. 22, 2014

I decided to head down to the mailbox at sunset because there is a nice view of the ocean from that corner and I thought it would be nice to actually see the horizon at sunset for a change. Just as I opened the mail slot, a woman and her young son approached the corner and asked me why I was ringing the bells. The little boy wanted to ring them and we chatted for a bit. “Do you want them back?” Ah. Since I had just run out of the house to mail the letters, I hadn’t thought to bring anything with me except the 2 special bells I chose for the occasion, and I had to reclaim them. Good reminder to always carry extra bells…

Late bird...

August 26, 2014. Sunset 7:49 PM. San Francisco

Slipping into the meditation garden for a quick goodbye to the day.

god morgen from Skomvær

Sunrise 4:45 AM. August 18, 2014. Skomvær Island

Greetings from Rachel Trapp, rising early during her residency in the Lofoten Archipelago in Norway. It looks too cold for summer…

watching and waiting

August 2. Sunset 8:11 PM Minneapolis Airport.

An a oddly serene moment enroute to San Francisco.

A noisy farewell

August 1, 2014. Sunset 8:13 PM. NYC.

Sharing a nice meal with Pauline Oliveros, Ione and Bun Ching Lam after saying goodbye to our wonderful friend and colleague, Jenneth Webster. Jenneth ran the Lincoln Center Out of Doors for decades and there was a memorial for her earlier this evening at the Lincoln Center. We miss her. So here’s a noisy send off from a momentarily dyslexic me- (all I captured was a brief snippet of the sound in the restaurant) --

Two for the Road

Two offerings this month:

July 16, 2014, ? ?

The audio was from sunset on July 16- exact time and place unknown- as it happened while I was onboard an airplane. My best guess is that it was around 9:00 and over Ohio somewhere. It was a spur of the moment documentation, and I just opened my iPad and played a little piece on the Tibetan Bowls app. I could barely hear the bells above the plane noise, but I think it turned out OK.

July 25, 2014. 8:19PM

I figured that first one was kind of cheating somehow and so I am also including a view of ColossalMedia’s mural of the winning photo by High School student Steven Paul.  It’s on Broadway just by the Williamsburg Bridge. It’s my favorite mural that’s been on that building so far.

A joyful noise!

June 21, 2014. Sunset 8:34 Chapel of the Chimes. Oakland, CA

Even though the Solstice has passed, the sun continues to set a bit later, reaching its apex (at this latitude anyway) on 6/26/14. Then the sun will continue to set at 8:36 for another week before reversing direction and joining the sunrise to shrink our daily dose of sunlight. Here is a snippet of this year’s Solstice celebration from the Garden of Memory at the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, CA. A hundred bells, the Cardew Choir and the general din of 1000’s of people greeting the summer—

Thank you Rose for the amazing bell.

FYI The NY Times published an article challenging our association of light with all things good- including the relationship between the amount of sunlight and mood.

Memorial Day Sunrise

May 26, 2014. Sunrise 5:52 AMSan Francisco, CA

A quiet audio observance for Memorial Day.

Have a blessed and peaceful holiday.

(This was my co-observer this morning)

Garageland

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Sunset 7:43 PM. Daly City, CA

Exciting news for all skywatchers

I thought I'd use this evening’s sunset update as an opportunity to alert/remind everyone of an exciting planetary event that will occur overnight this Monday into Tuesday: a total lunar eclipse - the first of a series four consecutive total eclipses – 

This series, called a tetrad, will occur over the next 2 years and will be visible from North America. Because the eclipse turns the moon red, it has been called a Blood Moon. 

It also coincides nicely with Passover and Tax day.

FYI

Biblical references to the Blood Moon  

FYI

Total eclipse times- various cities:

East coast 3AM (4/15/14)

West Coast Midnight tonight

St. Patrick and the Equilux

Sunrise 7/19 AM Sunset 7:18 PM
March 17, 2014
San Francisco 



For the sunrise I usually face east for a more direct view of the change in light. However, knowing that I was going to document both the sunrise and sunset, I decided to face the Pacific Ocean in the morning. And there was the moon! Hanging over the sea, on it’s way down.

So here is a nice view from the middle of the street on the day of the nearest balance of light and darkness as we approach the Equinox. To find out which day the Equilux occurs at your latitude- click here and enter your location.

Do you see the flare at sunset? Can that be the “green flash”? I have only seen it through a camera lens. Has anyone ever seen it with his or her bare eyes?

On the move into the light- Happy Spring!

Saving it for what?

Sunsets: March 8, 2014: Sunset 6:09 PM
March 9, 2014: Sunset 7:10 PM
San Francisco

One view. 2 days.

I hate when this happens. 

Welcome to Daylight Savings time. Again.

In loving memory-- Sheila Kaplan Davis 1954-2014

March 4, 2014 

Sunrise 6:38 AM. San Francisco

My grandmother lived above her grandmother’s store when they were both raising their children. Her mother and my mother would get on the phone after dinner and keep each other company the rest of the evening until one of them fell asleep. Sheila and I were born within 3 months of one another (she was younger as she would want everyone to know). We got into a lot of trouble together in High School and then saw one another sporadically over the years. I always felt close to Sheila and took our special connection for granted.

I found out last night that she passed away after a long illness I knew nothing about.

It was with great sadness and regret that I observed the sunrise this morning and dedicate this moment to my friend’s memory. Goodbye Sheila. This world is a poorer place without you in it.

Sunrise on the Horse!

January 31, 2014
Sunrise 7:15 AM. San Francisco

I wondered if we could actually hear the moment when the sun crosses the horizon.

(In this recording it happens during the passing of the streetcar at 7:15 AM)

Happy New Year of the Wood Horse!

the back way to JFK

January 8, 2014. 
Sunset 4:45 PM. Brooklyn, NY

Riding to the airport on all the little back streets in Brooklyn during rush hour. The driver was amazing. I had no idea where we were but he just whirled and twirled his way along. The tiny buzz of the various radio voices inside the car and the hum and thunks of the tires on the roadway were so inviting that I decided to record it along with the sunset. The photo was really an afterthought.

Happy 2014!

Twirling around in the middle of the street scanning for the sounds of midnight as we tick over into the new year. Warmest wishes for your health, happiness and heart's desire!

This marks the beginning of the 7th year for the daily bell. wooo.

Happy Solstice 2013!

December 21, 2013. Brooklyn, NY
Sunrise 7:16 AM Sunset 4:31 PM 

This is a little bracket of the shortest day of the year- observed through my kitchen window by the Williamsburg Bridge. 

FYI The sunset time had flattened out for several weeks while the sun continued (and still does) to rise later each day. That's why the days were still shrinking-- not because of a closing in from either end. By this time next week, the sunrise and sunset will be moving away from one another once again and what has been a very slow creep into darkness will start to open much more rapidly into the light.

So Happy Solstice- And here we go again!

First time in 125 years!

November 28, 2013. Albany CA. 

Sunset 4:51 PM

A once in a lifetime (or 2) convergence of Thanksgiving and Chanukah. Celebration at sunset. Happy Holidays!

All Souls Alert!

Remembering the Dead ... (and also to turn the clocks back)

sunset 10-31-13 6:13 PM

I was planning to capture the sunset on Halloween 

and the sunrise the following morning on Day of the Dead. (That’s also All Saints’ Day, which has quite a different flavor than Dia de los Muertos, especially here in San Francisco).

sunrise 11-1-12  7:35 AM

But then I had a quick peek of the last bit of sun sinking into the ocean that I saw from the Safeway parking lot on what we use to call “Mischief Night” – the day before Halloween. So I grabbed that, too.


sunset 10-30-13 6:14 PM

Today, November 2^nd is the third day (All Souls' Day) of Hallowmas—traditionally a period in many cultures dedicated to remembering the dead. So I make this little 3-day offering in that spirit (even though the whole thing is shifted by a day).

The fact that we turn back our clocks later today, on All Souls Day, seems especially significant somehow- gaining an hour of life (which most of us will happily sleep away).

Happy Equilux?

San Francisco: Sunrise 6:57 AM; Sunset 7:08 PM

This week we tip over to the dark side.

As you can imagine, it’s not possible for everyone to experience the equal division of the day into light and darkness on the same day. That event only coincides with the equinox at the equator. For everyone else on the planet, it depends on where you are located.

If you would like to know when you will experience the balance of light and dark, have a look at www.sunrisesunset.com. You can enter your location and see which day has the sunrise and the sunset separated by 12 hours. That will be your Equilux. 

(Did you see a green flash? Just before the sunset titles? The moment of sunset?)

Fading Fast

Sunset 7:26 PM

A little snippet from the sunset observance just before our meditation group at Mission Dharma in San Francisco. We are losing more than a minute of light per day and rapidly growing darker.

Invitation to share your sunwatch

this moment was observed and shared by Lynne Piade

Stop doing that!

Sunset 7:44. San Francisco


The sun set while we were waiting for the previews to begin. So rather than miss anything, we observed the moment by ringing bells from our seats. Unfortunately it was to the annoyance of one of our fellow patrons who was way into the JC Penny back to school advertisement.

Sunset with Friends

Sunset 8:01 PM. Brooklyn, NY
August 10, 2013

SHARE YOUR SUNWATCH-
Inspiration for invitation from dailybell2008 to share your sunrise or sunset in a small effort to remind and unite us of our connection to each other and to this world which we seem so determined to destroy.

Sunrise- real life in real time

This was the month for mixed and merged realities. Hard to keep track, but the sunrise was a nice constant.

Sunrise 5:27AM. Troy, NY July 12, 2013 
This sunrise is from was the first of 3 days for the Art and Science of Deep Listening held at the EMPAC center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. The conference was held in celebration and as an exploration into Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening practice from practioners around the world. It was an amazing 3 days and hopefully it will only be the first annual conference of more to come.
 
Bjorn Eriksson (aka miulew) and I rang in the sunrise in the dorm parking lot. A nice quiet affair (except for all the air conditioner blowers). Afterwards, I just went back to bed but Bjorn went on to take advantage of David Arner’s birdwalk. Later in the day we performed with the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. This was the first time that so many of us were present together in Real Life (Tina Pearson aka Humming Pera, Viv Corringham aka Zonzo, Norman Lowrey aka North Zipper, Bjorn and I aka Groucho Parx) along with our avatar counterparts and the other Second Life performers from around the globe

Sunrise 5:50 AM. Brooklyn, NY July 30, 2013 

Another opportunity to ring in the morning with another member of the AOM, Tina Pearson.

DETROIT-- Summer Solstice Sunrise and Sunset!

At the time of the Solstice, the mornings were already creeping forward, expanding the territory of darkness. However, the evenings were also moving forward so we could still revel in the same amount of light- temporarily holding the light line. Sadly, now however, the evenings have leveled off and the sun will continue to set at the same time for another week before it joins the mornings to shrink our daylight. Ahhhhh. It was really wonderful to be at the western most edge of the time zone and just a bit farther north while in Detroit. Sunset after 9PM—glorious! (It’s so close to Canada)

Sunrise 5:56 AM
Hamtramck, MI

While in Detroit for a residency at MOCAD, I stayed at the dflux house as a guest of Jon Brumit and Sarah Wagner. Dflux is in the neighborhood called NoHam which is short for North Hamtramck. Thank you Jon and Sarah! This is an incredible endeavor- the dflux, your garden, animals and shy bees. I wish you much success, happiness and safety. It felt very good to be in your neighborhood and in the company of your family. Many thanks again.

Sunset 9:13 AM 
Detroit Institute of Arts Museum 
I took a short break from the Shirin Neshat exhibition to ring down the sun. I loved this museum — beautiful Diego Rivera murals and recently renovated building. A live acoustic music performance in the evening—the museum was packed.

The Clock

Sunrise 5:50AM 

Waiting in line at SF Museum of Modern Art to see Christian Marclay’s “The Clock”. For the first 3 hours of viewing this morning, we got to watch the world wake up on film. What an amazing piece.

bells at Mel's

Sunset 8:20 PM. San Francisco

I got so excited because the hostess had joined us to ring bells that I left my cellphone at the restaurant.

The jukeboxes don't really work anymore

For the benefit of all beings...

Sunset 7:59 PM. San Francisco


Another month of violence. Here in the US and all over the world. Commonplace and it seems with increasing frequency. And while this small quiet observance does little to alleviate the intense suffering and grief too many people are experiencing first hand, I would still like to offer it as a moment of reflection. A time out and a tune in to something larger than ourselves. A breath. A pause. 
This evening's observance is in the garden of The Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist in the Mission.

What do you know?

95%

Wish I was there!!

Sunset 5:50 PM. Hermosa Beach Pier, CA.

Thank you, Lynne for sharing that sunset. It's easy to see why people want to live in LA.

Happy New Year of the Sssssnake!

Sunset 6:01PM. San Mateo
Just checking in with a little update from February. This is my Godson Kazimir who was born in January 2008, the first year of dailybell. Since we’ve been doing this all of his life, it’s completely normal to him to ring bells at sunset wherever we happen to be. I just love it. So here we are at a local restaurant having dinner. We took pictures of each other as we rang down the sun, and then Kazi took a photo of the remaining food. I’ll be posting something every month, just to stay in touch. In the meantime, I am working with Everglade Records to produce a DVD of the media from the first year of the dailybell. It’s slow going, but we hope to have something ready in a few months.

Universe holds it's breath?

The sun has been rising at the same time (7:25) every morning for the past 2 weeks here in San Francisco. In New York, it flat-lined for about a week starting on New Year's Eve and has just turned around a few days ago.

This gradual slowing down and holding pattern for the sunrise time happens just after the Solstice in the Winter (at least at these latitudes). In the Summer, it's the sunset time that is suspended.

Like the holding of a breath that's just about to start leaking out again, we are poised at the last moment before the sun finally begins creeping towards the horizon a little earlier each day on Monday.

Hallelujah!

Exploratorium on the Move

Sunset 1/2/13. 5:02 PM

The Exploratorium closing. San Francisco

This is the beginning of the 6th year of the dailybell sunrise and sunset observations. What had begun as a year-long project in 2008 has become what I hope is a life-long practice. And while the focus has shifted to something more personal, it is still my deepest wish and hope that a communal practice of this daily observation could transform society in a profound and positive way.

So in service of this aspiration, I would like to continue to find some ways of sharing observations as well as any benefits that I stumble upon in the course of this activity. While I have not yet figured out what form that will take this year- perhaps some documentation, writing, invitations, etc., I would like to make one more offering in the spirit of last year's weekly documentations.

This is a very special one for me as the sunset coincided with closing time on the final day of the Exploratorium’s location in the Palace of Fine Arts. As one of the many fortunate people who have had a relationship with this museum, I joined the almost 10,000 other visitors that day to say goodbye. Thank you Robyn Higdon for the public bell ringing! This was a glorious piggyback ride for the dailybell and a really lovely sounding experience as well.

I hope you enjoy. Happy New Year!

An extra week?

Sunset 4:37 PM. Broadway, NYC.

Somehow it's the 53rd week. Does this only happen during a leap year?

My nieces were visiting from Florida and we were on Broadway in the snow at sunset this evening. (It's a short one because we were very cold).

Happy Solstice 2012

Sunset 4:32 PM. Brooklyn, NY inch by inch... slowly it turns... but we are heading in the light direction. ahhhhhh

4:51 PM and holding!!!

The Solstice is fast approaching- Hallelujah! In the meantime… For the past 15 days or so the sun has set at the same time every night (at this latitude). It has now headed back the other way and is setting later—slowly. Incrementally. However, the sun continues to rise later each day as well- at a slightly faster rate than the sunset is delayed. So the days still grow a bit shorter until Friday. So for your entertainment during the final darker days, I offer 3 moments from the last 3 weeks at sunset.

12/1/12 4:51 PM, San Francisco Welcome Chloe-

Not so interested in the bells - unless they move.

12/8/12 4:51 PM First Night of Hanukkah

12/14/12 4:52 PM San Mateo, CA End of the Semester :) 

 Happy Holidays!!