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!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunset 4:54 PM.  San Francisco

This view of the moon was in the east at the moment of sunset on Thanksgiving. A few minutes later the sky to the west burst into pink. Good thing everything is tied down…

Poor Little Plover

Sunset 4:57 PM. Ocean Beach, San Francisco Poor little snowy plover. This also reminds me of the old smoking sections on airplanes…

Return to the Norm (when normal is not avilable)

Sunrise and Sunset 6:38 AM and 5:08 PM San Francisco Most things dwarf in perspective to a catastrophe like hurricane Sandy. From my safe and undisturbed position on the West Coast I can only sympathize and offer remote support to my family, friends and everyone who were affected. FYI, this week contains that man-made jolt in the wheel of transition to even more darkness. However, if it’s any consolation, we (at this latitude) are only losing one more hour of daylight between now and the solstice—then more light…

Good Riddance!

Sunset 6:09 PM. Berkeley, CA to Daylight Saving time. I hate it. STOP THE MADNESS!! Sign the petition!!! :)

Happy Halloween

Sunset 6:13 PM. San Francisco from me and Norman (and my thumb)

GO GIANTS!!!

Sunset 6:25 PM. San Francisco

Game 6 of the playoffs. We all know what happened. I gotta say it, “GO GIANTS!!!!!”

Hop On Sunset

Sunset 6:33 PM. San Mateo, CA

We’ve started a new tradition- stopping for dinner and waiting out the rush hour after school on Mondays. This week Kazimir chose the restaurant. At 4 years old, I don’t know what his criteria was, but he picked a really good sushi place. (I think he liked the name Hop On Sushi). Perfect timing for the sunset, too.

Labyrinth Sunset AUDIO

listen.

Labyrinth walk at sunset

Sunset 6:37 PM

Grace Cathedral. San Francisco

One Friday each month, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco invites the public to come and walk their indoor labyrinth. Entering just before sunset, the Cathedral is glowing inside with the soft colored light coming in through the windows and from the flickering candles scattered about.

It really felt like a sanctuary, stepping over the threshold into that cavernous, reverberant space, the layers of sounds and years of incense immediately absorbing you into their texture. Karma Moffett was already playing- Tibetan bells- stirring or striking—deep and resonant. I thought, “Oh how perfect. The bells will already be ringing for sunset. I’ll just turn on my recorder when it’s time for the sunset and capture those beautiful bells”.

HA! After playing the bells for more than half and hour, at exactly the moment of sunset (and at the same time as I started recording), Mr. Moffett changed to those long Tibetan horns.

I hope you enjoy listening.

Bell Crazy Boys

Sunset 6:45 PM

Oakland, CA

These boys were having too much fun! After ringing down the sun during a visit last week, my friends’ 18-month-old son talked about the bells for days. So this week we decided to document this evening for the weekly update.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

EQUILUX!!!

Sunrise and Sunset 7:01 AM/PM. 
Ocean Beach, San Francisco.

OK. So here it is. Equal day and night. I thought it would be nice to record the sunrise and sunset at the beach. Like I did in for the Spring Equilux, I again pictured a slow pan from east to west, cross fading half way through the pan as it changed from sunrise to sunset. Unfortunately, I wasn’t awake enough this morning to operate the camera properly, and I apologize to Audrey for dragging her out of bed to come ring the bell with me at the beach. I meant it when I said “Good job, Audrey!” although none of you will actually witness the moment of sunrise. Sunset was a different matter and I hope you enjoy it- equally foggy and non-sun event that it was.

Still lopsided

Sunrise 6:57 AM 
San Francisco 
  Sunrise here in San Francisco was at 6:57AM and the sun will set at 7:07 PM. Still a little lopsided as far as equal light and darkness goes but that’s only because we aren’t at the Equator. The sun crosses the Equator today at 14:49 GMT or about an hour from this moment.

September 11, 2012

Sunset 7:25 PM
Listen. Meditation with Mission Dharma

among the trees

Sunset 7:19 PM. Yosemite Valley, CA.

ahhh

East Side West Side

Sunset 7:40 PM. San Francisco

I was talking on the phone to my father in New Jersey when the sun went down out here in SF. Fortunately he likes this project and observed the moment with me even though it was long dark where he was sitting.

dinnertime

 Sunset 7:50 PM San Francisco


We were just getting ready for dinner when the sun went down.  The sun rises and sets later here in San Francisco than it does in NY. Plus we get almost an additional 1/2 hour of light this time of year. With the amount of daylight shrinking by more than 15 minutes a week, it’s hard not to cling to every bit of it. Fall is lurking.

Clear View

 Sunset 7:54 PM. Brooklyn, NY
Big thunderstorm today. Finally swept away the humidity. Everything is so clear for the moment. And sparkly.

Speaking of light. We’ve lost about 15 minutes of daylight to the darkness in the last week.

Invitation

Where is Du Bois, ILL?

Sunset 8:01PM. Miles above the earth

 It said 6:00 on my iPod when I snapped this photo across the aisle of that last bit of sun coming in the little window. At about 3 1/2 hours into a 5-hour flight from San Francisco to NY, I think “somewhere above DuBois, Ill” is a good guess for where we might have been at the time.

The Old Ballgame

Sunset 8:21PM. San Francisco

Later on this evening at AT&T Park, Giants vs the Mets:

Score is tied, bottom of the 9^th bases loaded, 2 outs, 3 balls, 2 strikes…

Waiting with bells

Sunset 8:23PM. San Francisco

We were in the Mission looking for parking on our way to the Roxie Theater for an evening of post punk music films- This Must Be ThePlace. We were especially interested in seeing the film In The Red that was co-directed by Karen Merchant and our dear friend Liz Keim.

Thank you Hannah for the nice camera work :)

Another Sunset in the Fishtank

 Sunset 8:28PM. San Francisco

Another non-event at sunset, this one in the company of my ancient goldfish, Lucy. 

Pink Leopard Skin Pants- NOT!

Sunset 8:32 PM. San Francisco

My niece from Florida is staying with me this summer, and she joined me for the sunset ringing on Bastille Day.

She wanted to make sure that everyone who sees this photo understands that she was wearing pajama bottoms in this photo and that she would never wear pants that looked like pink leopard skin in public.

(Apparently the internet doesn't count as too public)

Nothing Special

Sunset 8:35 PM. Olive Garden, Stonestown Mall. San Francisco

I kept putting off the documentation, waiting until something particularly interesting occurred at the same time as the sunset. However, the only really unusual thing that happened this week at sunset was the After Dark event at the Exploratorium. And then I was too busy to document it. So here we are at the Olive Garden on Saturday. That place was so busy nobody really noticed the little bells among the chatter and clatter (listen) bouncing off the newly renovated walls.

Day Shrinking from Both Ends

Sunset 8:31PM. Brooklyn
June 29, 2012

Cheers and sunset greetings from
 my friend Bun Ching who was in
Brooklyn this past Friday.

Crossing the light line

Sunset 8:30PM. June 20, 2012

We are half way through the year!

Another nice quiet observance from the Williamsburg Bridge. This time joined by my friend Pamela Winfrey and her two teenage children. Pamela was here as part of the NYAvant-Garde Arts Festival with her play “It All Leads to the Lemon Scene”. She received the award for best play/audience favorite at the end of the weeklong competition. YAY! and congratulations!

My Birthday

Sunrise 5:24AM. Sunset 8:28 PM

Celebrate my birthday by the Williamsburg Bridge with me!

Mars Sunrise

Sunset 8:29 PM. San Francisco

Dirt was the topic at this month’s After Dark event at the Exploratotrium. All kinds of dirt. The sun began to set few minutes before Paul Doherty’s lecture at on Extraterrestrial Dirt. While we all rang bells, Paul used his finger to simulate the horizon during the sunset, slowly raising it to obscure the image of the sun in the slide he was projecting.
However, that was neither a sunset nor the horizon on the planet earth. We were looking at a sunrise on Mars. One interesting thing we learned was that sunrises and sunsets on Mars turn the sky blue- the opposite of the fiery orange that is the normal color of the sky the rest of the day.

Besides learning about the color of the sky on Mars, we got to touch a speck of the very expensive dirt from the surface of the planet that was glued to the head of a pin.

Bill's Birthday

Sunrise 5:19AM. San Francisco

My brother would have turned 50 today so I dedicate this sunrise observance to his memory. If you listen carefully, you will hear the first few drops of rain before the sky opens up. Greetings from heaven?

Double Feature

Eclipse 6:33 PM & Sunset 8:17PM Marin Headlands & Ocean Beach

When Animals are People Too, a talk given by Rachel Mayeri and Laurel Braitman at the Marin Headlands ended, the solar eclipse was well underway. My friend Vangie and I had slipped out a few minutes earlier and were trying to figure out how to watch it without going blind. We tried poking a hole through some paper with a pen; then an earring. Both holes produced teeny tiny images of the sun, already covered by a small black crescent. It was so exciting but sooooo small. Then I remembered Bob Miller and the Exploratorium.

All we needed were our hands, criss-crossed like a lattice. Placing our hands in the air, our backs to the sun and whamo!! Multiple suns images. By the time everyone came outside, we had it down and passed along the pinhole-generating tip. Then someone noticed the images of the sun that the leaves were producing. Even though it wasn’t a full eclipse, it was still thrilling. The last solar eclipse I can remember was the one in August 2008, which I witnessed remotely from the Exploratorium. The museum had sent people to China where they experienced a full eclipse. As remarkable as that was, it couldn’t compare to actually being right there with the little crescents dancing all over your body.

Sunset at Streetopia

Sunset 8:15 PM. Market Street, San Francisco

Opening festivities for Streetopia on Market Street in front of the Luggage Store. I will be presenting What Can You Do? with a small team of performers on June 2^nd from 1:00- 5:00.

Streetopia is “a large-scale group exhibition taking place in venues throughout downtown San Francisco from May 18 through June 23, 2012. Curated by writer, Erick Lyle, and artists, Chris Johanson and Kal Spelletich, Streetopia will bring neighborhood residents together with at least 132 artists, performers, writers, filmmakers, activists, thinkers, and public policy makers in venues in the heart of the city, to address the show’s themes of Utopian aspiration for the city.

One part show and one part elaborate public experiment, the show will spill out of these galleries into the surrounding neighborhood with projects that include public murals, art on area billboards, installations in vacant storefronts, performances in the streets, and events at nearby community gardens.”

My friend Elisabeth Beaird who co-directs Circuit Network is on the far right of the photo.

Last Supper at the Exploratorium

 Sunset 8:06 PM. San Francisco, CA

Tonight was the last Awards Dinner of the Exploratorium at the Palace of Fine Arts, it’s home for the past 43 years. While major donors and former honorees dined out on the museum floor under the skylight, the staff celebrated in the McBean Theater at the other end of the museum. Tiny shades of Upstairs Downstairs- years ago the staff was invited and welcome  to join the guests. Alas the seats were much less expensive then, and after all, those were the old days. These days, however, everyone is looking forward to the upcoming move which is scheduled for 2013 to the new home right on the San Francisco Bay. Ahhhh.

Evernoisy

Sunrise 6:43 AM. Homestead, FL

Waking up has it’s own sound, and I love the cacophony of sunrise in tropical places. Here in the Everglades, the air is thick with birds and insects calling to each other and to no one as they go about the business of beginning another day. Most days sound pretty much the same to my ears. It would be interesting to know what actually changes from day to day. Different routine? New nest? New life? Somebody missing? In any event, for someone who is most definitely NOT a morning person, there is something inspiring and optimistic about this very dense earful of lively nonhuman activity first thing in the morning.

Bouncing the Light

Sunset 7:51 PM. Broadway, Brooklyn

If I am at home when the sun sets, I often just open the window and hang out over the street. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best view of the sun from that vantage point- at least at this time of year. Sometimes people look up if they hear the little bells, but most often they pass by disinterested or unaware. Tonight, I was especially fortunate to see the sky reflected in one of the windows of a building across the way. At first I thought I was seeing the actual sun, but the orange light lingered for so long, I realized it was just glow from the clouds. 

Another sunset from this view in 2008.

Anytime Café

Sunset 7:50 PM. New York City

During each sunrise or sunset this week, I would think, “Oh. I need to document one of these”, and then I’d forget about it. Completely. So this evening as I was sitting in the Anyway Café having dinner with my friend Maria, the sun began to set. I realized it was my last opportunity for the week to capture the moment so this is a spontaneous, rather clumsy grab in the dark from my iPhone. I apologise.

However, this is such a cozy and friendly place that it was a perfect place for the occasion.  In case it’s too dark to see what’s happening, the waitress came over to our table as she heard us ringing. She and Maria rang, sampled and critiqued the bells while I stepped outside to hear the sharp objections of a poor little dog at the end of the day.

If you are ever in the neighborhood, the Anyway Café is a really relaxed and comfortable environment. Good food, no hurry or pressure to give up your table. And for those who may be interested, they have flavored vodka.

Knowing Your Place

Sunset 7:34 PM Chicago, ILL

In order to say what the time sun sets it is necessary to know what time it is or where you are located. When traveling in an airplane several miles above the earth, it is difficult to know either (except for knowing your seat number which doesn’t help much). I have always enjoyed the challenge of trying to pinpoint the time and place of the sunrise or sunset from an airplane.

So when I saw that I would be in transit somewhere during the sunset hour on a recent cross-country flight, I looked forward to figuring it out. It turned out, however, that the sun set during a 4 hour layover at the O'Hare Int'l Airport in Chicago. No problem knowing the time or place of the sunset. Just business as usual on the ground, although someone on the PA did keep asking, "What's your 20?"

Happy Passover and Happy Easter

April 8, 2012 Sunrise 6:45 AM
Easter Dawn


A photo from my backyard with the audio sunrise.



April 6, 2012 Sunset 7:37 PM


Norman rings in the beginning of Passover for Lucy and me. Happy Holidays

Birthdays and Death Days

Sunset 7:30 PM San Francisco, CA



From the time I was young, my grandmother told me that March was the bad luck month in our family. Everybody died in March, or so she said. As it turned out, my mother was born on this day in 1933. 3-30-33. Her father died on her birthday a few years before she herself passed away. I have a little altar with photos and assorted statues, tools and tchotchkes from family and friends who are no longer alive. I wanted to include them in this evening’s ringing and share the photo for the update this week.

Vernal Equinox 2012

Sunset 7:21 PM San Francisco, CA



Every year I try to make sense of equinox around the conflict between what is happening and what we expect or imagine is happening. What is happening is the center of the sun is crossing the equator. We look to that moment as a turning point towards the light, towards spring and the beginning of the end of winter. Many of us also imagine this day to divide the darkness and light in half.

Of course we know that it is impossible for the entire world to experience equal light and darkness on the same day- the equinox. It doesn’t make sense, yet we go along with it. A convenient truth. Close enough.

Until now- at least for me. Because I have discovered the name for the day of equal light and darkness. It’s called Equilux. And because there is a name for it that both distinguishes it from the Equinox as well as relates to it, I feel relieved of the struggle to resolve the conflict between my expectations and reality (as far as this goes anyway).

I confess that I am much more partial to the Equilux than the Equinox (at least in the spring). The time when the light and darkness are balanced for an instant, yet poised to tumble towards the light is a hallelujah moment. Besides, the Equinox always comes after that day for all of us who don’t live right on the Equator. We have already moved into the light by then. It is really anticlimactic if you think about it.

But hey, why not celebrate both days- Spring is here!

Spring Equilux in San Francisco

Sunrise and Sunset 7:18 San Francisco



Today is called the Equilux, and it always occurs before the Equinox in the spring. Think about it. It's not possible for the entire world to experience equal light and darkness on the same day- the moment when the center of the sun crosses the equator. That's the Equinox. You can find when the Equilux occurs where you live by checking the sunrisesunset.com calendar. Get ready for the next one in the fall.

Must Wear Pants

Sunrise 6:36 AM Eugene, OR

This was one of the nicest sunrises I have experienced in a while. At first I thought maybe we wouldn’t be able to film this one as one of the participants didn’t want to wear any pants. But he was easily convinced, and we proceeded as planned.

Such a lovely place. For those city dwellers among us who might not recognize it, that is lichen hanging from all the trees. Not only is it amazing to see in such abundance, the lichen is also an indicator of air quality. As it is unable to grow in the least bit of pollution, you can imagine how pure the air is here.

Not to mention – quiet.

Many thanks to my hosts for a wonderful week.

Leap Day! 2012

6:02 PM, San Francisco



Inspired by the LEAP in Leap Day, I am temporarily hopping over the media bottleneck that is now the month of February and present the sunset observance for Leap Day 2012. Nothing special as the day went, especially compared with last Leap Day (sunrise and sunset) in 2008, but neither did it go completely unnoticed.
Enjoy!

On a Hill in North Beach at Sunset

5:56 PM. San Francisco

One of the few occasions that Sally and I had observed the sunset together was in 2008 in front of the Sushi restaurant in the Sunset District. Today was another non-event, but this time in North Beach. It was right about dinnertime again this time, too. So as soon as we finished ringing the sun down, we launched ourselves in the other direction going UP the hill in search of something to eat.

Early birds catch the first hole

7:09 AM. Litchfield Park, AZ

In his 21 years on this earth, besides the normal bumps and bruises one collects on the way to adulthood, my asthmatic, accident prone nephew has punctured his liver, broken both of his legs (not at the same time), fractured his arm and suffered a serious concussion. One of his more recent escapades was to attempt a stuntman kind of trick with his younger brother. He directed his brother to drive the car straight at him, thinking he would simply fling himself onto the hood and roll over the top of the car- “just like in the movies”. When it didn’t quite work out the way he had planned, he admitted that it wasn’t one of the brightest things he had ever attempted.

So when he invited me to attend his graduation of his second year in The Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) Certification Program in Arizona, I was thrilled. My sister has been a follower of Donna Eden and practitioner of this form of healing for many years and is a well-respected healer and busy instructor. That my nephew is both interested and committed to learning and practicing something that is positive and beneficial to both his own well being and that of others is a great relief to me. I am also very proud of him. He graduated with 100 other students (mostly women) at the Wigwam Motel, Spa and golf resort. It has never ceased to amaze me that there are over 420 golf courses in the desert of Arizona. No matter that it’s a very dry place, it’s easier to turn it green than to make the sun shine.

"In Our Name"

5:37 PM Herbst Theatre. San Francisco



There have not been too many times over the past few years when the sun has set during a concert or performance. It's interesting that two of them have occurred during pieces about war. This is an excerpt from "In Our Name", Annea Lockwood's haunting and powerful setting of poems by prisoners from Guantanimo. Thomas Buckner, Theodore Mook and Annea Lockwood performed the piece at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. The excerpt on the video is from the following poem by Judah Al Dossari, entitled “Death Poem”:

Take my blood
Take my death shroud and
The remnants of my body.
Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely

Send them to the world,
To the judges and
To the people of conscience,
Send them to the principled men and the fair-minded

And let them bear the guilty burden, before the world,
Of this innocent soul.
Let them bear the burden, before their children and before history,
Of this wasted, sinless soul,
Of this soul which has suffered at the hand of the “protectors of peace.”

Sitting there listening brought to mind the performance of Benjamin Brittan’s “War Requiem”on August 2, 2008. The sun set during the early part of the piece where they were playing the chimes in the orchestra.

Malcolm's Grave

5:28PM San Francisco



Malcolm was most comfortable if he could be “nearby”. Within a few feet but not too close. This being the case, he figured in a lot of the sunrises and sunsets we watched from home during the first year of this project.

He was a fierce little cat and had few friends. And though we were few, we were completely devoted. Most people who knew him, however, were afraid of him because he attacked swiftly and without warning or noticeable provocation.

Malcolm died the week before Halloween last year and will be remembered by all who knew him and is deeply missed by those of us who loved him.

PS Those drums in the distance are part of this Chinese New Year of the Water Dragon celebrations

Tasty Bells Sunset Snack

5:18PM Oakland, CA



Soon after beginning the dailybell2008 project, my Godson Kazimir was born, and we have spent as many Fridays together as possible since then. He now has a baby sister who is just about the same age as Kazimir was when he first started to join us for the bell ringing. (In his case, it was a more oral than aural experience).

Now as his sister carries on the oral bell tradition, Kazimir has become more interested in the videotaping than the bell ringing while Krys and I comfortably observe the passing of the day together. (FYI: That's the new and improved mosh pit in the background).

Berkeley Garden Sunset

5:13PM


This place may look familiar from among the last round of daily videos in 2008. Time has not passed unnoticed however. The prayer flags have come and gone and come again. The garden is more wild and varied. The tree is taller, as is Jenny's nephew who is now in the middle of Kindergarten. Welcome back!

First Weekly Post of 2012

Sunrise/Sunset
January 7, 2012




I began this project in 2008 at the beginning of a Leap Year. Since we are here again at another Leap Year, I wanted to do something special to commemorate the anniversary as well as the occasion of our realignment of Earth time with Universal time. It’s amazing how short a period it takes for us to become out of whack, requiring an additional entire day to adjust our tidy and slightly lagging timekeeping methods with the actual planetary movement.

Anyway, I continue to observe and invite others to join the sunrise and sunset each day. I still like ringing the bells and carry a few in my purse and lug a big one around in the back of my car. It’s become a part of my life and a few children I know who have grown up with the tradition think nothing of it when the sunsets to come over and ring the bell in my car or to grab a bell in the house and ring along.

Believe it or not, some people have actually said they missed the updates and little bits of documentation they received as part of the first year. So to both commemorate the beginning of year 5 and to share glimpses of my observances, I am going to document one of the sunrises or sunsets each week this year and post them to the blog. If you have any media or comments you would like to post, please post what you can directly and send whatever you can’t to me, and I will do it for you.

Happy 2012!

Happy 2012!

MIDNIGHT- January 1, 2012
Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy new year from Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA. This is the beginning of another leap year! It's also the beginning of the 5th year of daily sunrise and sunset observances that begin with dailybell2008. Please join us in spreading and sharing the awareness of these 2 brief moments that connects 100% of us everyday.

Happy New Year!

Ringing in 2011 (and the start of the 4th year of the dailybell project)

Final Sunset 2010

May each of the sunrises and sunsets in this New Year find you in a good place!

Winter Solstice 2010

Seed Swap and Bell Ringing at the Dearborn Garden
What a lovely garden. Congratulations and good luck as we now move into the light

A little chilly but homemade food, drinks and good company warmed up the evening. Thanks to Liz Keim, Sam Sharkey and the Exploratorium and to Bill Basquin, Johunna Grayson, Greta Snider and the members and friends of the Dearborn Community Garden.

Happy Solstice Everyone!!!! And thanks for the seeds.

Winter Solstice Seed Swap and Bell Ring

SAVE YOUR SEEDS!

Sunset is at 4:54PM

The annual Solstice Seed Swap and Sunset Bell Ringing is just around the corner. dailybell will be joining artists and urban gardeners Bill Basquin, Johunna Grayson, Greta Snider.
When: 3:00 - 7:00 pm. Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Where: Dearborn Garden, at the corner of Dearborn and Bird Streets, very near to the Women's Building; SF, CA.
What: Bring seeds or plants to share. Bells.
Who: you and others who love to garden, compost, and protect the genetic commons through seed saving and sharing.
Who else: young people are welcome; dogs are NOT
Please label your seeds with as much information as you can provide:
• Location and date of collection.
• Species and variety. Color of bloom (when applicable).
• Adaptability to particular microclimates (which one are you in?).
• Cultivation preferences of the plant (does it like to have cool feet and a warm top?) if you know them.
Supported by Liz Keim and The Exploratorium.

Ring Round The World

OK. Let's do it.

On September 23, 2010, the date of the Harvest Moon, we will create a Ring Round the World by following the sunrise or sunset as it travels around the globe for 24 hours and by ringing bells at that moment. We could begin tracking the sunrise as it rises over the International Date Line and follow it from there.

As the 3rd year of the dailybell gets underway, I thought this would be a good time to plant some seeds for what could happen. The idea of tracking the sunrise and sunset as it travels around the globe, even for just one day, is such a joyous notion.

I am not quite sure how this works yet, but I've started a google group and you can go there and join.

Happy 2010!

At the beginning of 2009, I decided to keep the large cast iron bell in the back of my hatchback. I figured I would most likely be with my car at the end of the day and that it would be really nice to have the big bell handy. Since I was already at home for many of the sunsets, I rang the bell regularly in my neighborhood. Over the course of the year, some of my neighbors have joined me consistently. The fact that most of them are under 10 years old and need to be accompanied across the street by an adult should be mentioned.

I look forward to embarking on year 3 and have yet to decide how I would like to participate in it’s evolution. The daily practice is great and I would also like to instigate and document more events this time around. It would be great to have more people join the project and to know about their various activities.

The big picture?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a ring around the world- a constant trail of bells following the sun as it crosses the horizon across the globe? Oh…!
Reality check
This is a picture one of my young and loyal bell ringers slipped under my door the other day. I was so excited because I thought he had drawn himself striking these two little round school bells that he often likes to play. When I thanked him for the drawing and told him how much I liked it, especially the part with him playing the bells, he told me they weren’t bells. They were the spots of light he was casting with his new flashlight that I gave him for Christmas. AAH bells, flashlights- what’s the difference…

Winter Solstice

Following the Light

Sunrise and sunset times from 11/29/09 - 1/11/10 in San Francisco, CA

It's all still a bit mysterious to me. Even though the sun continues to rise later and later until the middle of January AND the sun has already begun to set later a week before the Solstice, December 21st still has the least amount of daylight in the year.

Any ideas? It's interesting to compare this chart to the Summer Solstice chart from last year. As you would expect, the lines are reversed.

Greetings!

HOORAY!! It only gets lighter from here. Today is the 72oth sunrise and 721st sunset since beginning this practice on New Year's Eve 2007.

Happy Holidays to everyone!
love,
Brenda