Category: B129.48

Transit of Mercury

I’m fascinated by rare astronomical events such as the upcoming Transit of Mercury. From earth, proper instruments can track the movement of the small planet across the surface of the sun. The event that occurs 13 times per century is not visible to the naked eye without serious damage. Better to watch the live streaming on Monday morning, 9 May.

Even more spectacular was the Transit of Venus that occurred in 1882, 2004, and 2012. I mentioned it on my Facebook page at the time.  John Phillip Sousa, also intrigued by astronomical phenomena, composed The Transit of Venus March in 1882.

Curley Hall

Curley Hall Main
Curley Hall Main, 1939, facing west.

Curley Hall is a residence for priests and male religious, most are faculty or staff at The Catholic University of America. Built in “Deco Gothic” style, the building consists of two sections: Curley Main, which faces west, and Curley Annex, which faces south. The two structures are connected by a stone-paved, covered walkway. My study, bedroom, and en suite bath are in the annex.

There is a dining room for residents and their guests in Curley Main, as well as the Vincent P. Walter Jr. Boardroom, a large, finely appointed room used by the university’s president for special events.

 

Back to the Future

I went back to the former theme, “Twenty Sixteen” for future posts.  “Forefront” seemed too cluttered and limiting.

I took the photo below last night.  It shows Caldwell Hall, the oldest major building at The Catholic University of America, 1888.  From this low angle, it looks rather French to me.

Caldwell Hall
Caldwell Hall from the northwest behind Hartke Theater.

1916 Easter Uprising 2016

Artists and Poets
Centennial Commemoration, Callan Lab Theater, CUA.

Last night, 20 April 2016, I attended a commemoration in poetry and song at The Catholic University of America honoring the Easter Rising.  Her Excellency Anne Anderson, 17th Irish Ambassador to the U.S., launched the evening with two short contemporary poems.

Coilin Owens
Coilin Owens (l.), Joyce scholar. and Michael Whelan, poet.

Dr. Coilin Owens concluded the event discussing the aftereffects and lingering significance of the Easter Rising 1916.

“I write it out in a verse—
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.”
–W.B. Yeats, From “Easter 1916.”

Remember the Titanic, 14-15 April 1912

Memorial
Women’s Titanic Memorial

The Patriot II took its passengers near the Women’s Titanic Memorial that commemorates the male passengers and crew who lost their lives at the sinking of the RMS Titanic so that women and children could survive. It is located on the Southwest waterfront beside Fort McNair.

The same person with whom I was taking the cruise had joined me four years earlier for a special evening ceremony honoring the sad event’s centennial in 2012.