Posted
on October 13, 2013
I
feel like bursting into song: “These are a few of my favorite
things...”
You
know:
Raindrops on roses and
whiskers on kittens,
Astronomy, cosmology,
Paul Simon's anthems...
Astronomy
is my favorite science!
In
some ways it makes no sense to say “my favorite science,” since
science is mostly an attitude of looking at empirical evidence to
discover truths about the world, the cosmos, and all the living and
non-living things in the universe.
Science is sort of like a really
good toolbox full of devices and techniques that help us sense and
measure objects and forces, come up with possible explanations for
what we sense, and test competing explanations.
How can we reasonably
divide one science from another, when chemistry and physics and even
biology are really all about interactions of atoms and other
particles?
Still,
if it DID make sense to choose my favorite science, it would be
astronomy. I love the grand scales found in the solar system, galaxy,
and universe; the beauty of nebulae, ringed planets, and spiral
galaxies; the mystery of black holes, dark matter, and dark energy;
the fundamental importance of the Big Bang and the possible
multiverse....It's all so breathtaking and fascinating.
It
gives me perspective on our little problems on a tiny planet that
orbits an inconspicuous star in the backwaters of a perfectly average
galaxy...
Twice
a year, in the spring and the fall, astronomy clubs celebrate
Astronomy Day by taking their telescopes to shopping malls, museums,
universities, libraries, nature centers, and other public places and
inviting people to take a close-up peek at the nighttime sky. Many
people who have never looked through a telescope before get their
first experience at an Astronomy Day event!
Learn
more about Astronomy at Kids Astronomy.
Paul
Simon is one of my favorite musicians!
When
I was a teenager, I didn't have much money, and I only bought music
from two groups.
(Back
then, we bought LP records if we wanted to hear particular music.
There weren't many radio stations, no internet, and no such thing as
digital music, CDs, or even audio tapes! It was a primitive,
primitive world!)
Out
of all the bands in the world, I chose to buy the music of the rock
band the Doors and of the folk duo Simon and Garfunkel. I guess that
means that I liked Paul Simon's music even more than the Beatles!!!
Simon,
who was born on this date in 1941, grew up in Queens, New York. Even
though his musical career began when he met Art Garfunkel when they
were both just 11 years old, Simon did manage to graduate from
college with a degree in English and even to study law for a bit –
all while he was writing, performing, recording, and releasing songs.
Most of the songs he performed solo or with someone other than his
childhood partner, Garfunkel, but some of his early songs were
performed by the duo's first group, Tom & Jerry. When the two
got their first break with a big music label, Columbia Records, the
music execs decided that they would go by the real names instead of
Tom and Jerry. Apparently this was the first time that “ethnic”
names were used in pop music.
(Simon
and Garfunkel are both of Jewish heritage.)
The
rest is history! Simon achieved fame and success both as part of
Simon and Garfunkel (he wrote most of the songs as well as played
guitar and sang) and also in his later solo career. He had several
Number 1 hits, earned 12 Grammys, and was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
Simon
has explained to those who ask how he writes songs that, for him, the
music always comes before the words. Then, “[i]t’s like a puzzle to find the right words to express what the music is saying."
Simon has also explained that his work is done once he has written
and performed the song; he doesn't feel that he should be called upon
to explain what a song “means.” That's the job of the listener.
My
favorite song by this favorite songwriter is The
Sound of Silence.
Since I bought ALL of the duo's records, I owned both of these
recorded versions: the original,
and the version that was a Number 1 hit.
Can you figure out the difference between the two versions?
Here
is someone else singing The
Sound of Silence;
the song accompanies lovely views of the rotating Earth—seen from
space! It's like my two favorites, astronomy and Paul Simon,
combined!
Also
on this date:
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Ahead:
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