‘Never Again is Now.’ Germans Mark 85th Anniversary of Kristallnacht at a Fraught Moment

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to Be Lighted, City to Create Pedestrian Zone Around the Complex

It’s beginning to look at least a little like Christmas.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, one of the best known and most visited Christmas trees in the world, will be lighted in a public ceremony Wednesday evening.  The ceremony will be broadcast to millions on the NBC network.

The tree, an 80’ (24.4 m) tall, 43’ (13 m) wide Norway Spruce, from Vestal, New York, was put into place in mid-November.

Street closures …

‘Reverse’ Manhattanhenge: Sunrise is Wednesday: Bring Your SLR and Tripod and Park Yourself in the Middle of a Busy Street

The phenomenon known as “Manhattanhenge,” or rather, a reverse Manhattanhenge, will take place early Wednesday morning.
At 6:59 a.m. local time, the sun will rise in the east aligned with the borough’s main street grid.

When Manhattanhenge occurs, it is a most impressive visual spectacle, and one can look down the center line of the street westward toward New Jersey at sunset and see the full solar disk slightly above the horizon …

Apple’s NameDrop Feature is Safe. Police Department Scaremongering About It Is Not.

To name drop is the practice of naming or alluding to famous or important people within the confines of a conversation, speech, song, or story… and it’s also the name of a new Apple iPhone and Apple Watch feature that simplifies the process of quickly sharing one’s contact information with the holder of a nearby iPhone or Apple Watch.
NameDrop, Apple says, allows people to “to share your contact information with …

Solar Winter is Here. The Darkest Quarter of the Year Can Be Depressing But Later Sunsets Are On the Way

Winter may be the coldest season but there are multiple types of winter.  There’s astronomical winter, meteorological winter, and solar winter.  Solar winter marks the beginning of the darkest period of the year, that is the quarter of the calendar year with the fewest number of daylight hours.
The recent end of Daylight Saving Time for 2023 made this point quite clear and sunlight is going to be in short supply …

November is Adopt a Senior Dog or Cat Month

The month of November is designated as  National Adopt a Senior Pet Month, also sometimes referred to as National Senior Pet Awareness Month.
While all pets are recognized during National Pet Month (May in the United States, April in the United Kingdom), this month-long commemoration is dedicated to senior dogs and cats, especially those who need to find a loving home.
In December 2016, I was adopted by a senior dog, Snickers …

World’s Largest Hanukkah Menorah to be Lighted in New York City in Early December

What  is believed to be the world’s largest menorah will be erected on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street at Grand Army Plaza, located next to Central Park.
Designed by Israeli artist Yaacov Agam, the 36-foot (11-meter)-tall symbol of Hanukkah, the festival of lights, will be lighted every night for eight nights starting on December 7.
The Agam menorah, a gold-colored steel structure, was inspired by a drawing of the original menorah in …

The 2021 Post-Thanksgiving Massacre: Omicron May Yet Have Surprises in Store For Us

It is appropriate as Americans approach the Thanksgiving holiday later this week to refer to it as the post-Thanksgiving rude awakening. After almost two years of SARS-CoV-2, many believed that the pandemic would soon be over.
By then, over five million people had succumbed to Covid and over four billion had been inoculated against it, using vaccines created in record time. Two variants of the original virus – Alpha and Delta …