Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

I laughed at Christmas cards with Santa and snow here in 60's, i don't think there are as many now. There is some, in the Snowy, but Santa's sleigh felt badly misplaced. More Australian themed cards now, i hope. Though think Santa is as popular, just snow not so much.

Have just put a note on my calendar to remember to check and will let you know. Ha, should be easy as i'll put the post number too. Should be. I've never noticed the difference in look of the moon. Another thing to try to see.

The Moon Is a Rorschach Test for Humankind

For millennia, we have stared up at Earth’s glowing companion and found a plethora of shapes and stories in its features.

By Marina Koren

[...]

A plethora of interpretations have emerged throughout human history. For some, the lunar features formed the silhouette of a rabbit. For others, the eyes and mouth of a human face. Or a woman and her child. Or an old man lugging firewood, perhaps with a small dog trailing after him. The interpretations arose in a myriad of disparate communities, but they share the same origin: our minds.

[...]

In many cultures, particularly across Asia, the lunar surface shows the shape of a rabbit. According to Chinese lore, Chang’e, the goddess of the moon, drank an elixir meant for her and her husband. The potion transported her, along with her pet rabbit Yutu, to the moon for eternity, leaving her companion behind. The legend lives on as the namesake of China’s lunar-exploration program. In 2013, the country launched a lander called Chang’e 3 to the moon with a rover named Yutu on board.

In Japan, the rabbit hails from a different story: An old man, seeking food, approached a monkey, a fox, and a rabbit in a forest. The monkey brought him some fruit, and the fox caught him fish. The rabbit, unable to provide anything but grass, decided to sacrifice himself and prepared to jump into a fire. The man stopped him and granted the rabbit immortality on the face of the moon for his kindness.

In one story from the Cree people, one of the largest groups of native North Americans, a rabbit hitched a ride to the moon on a crane.

This collection is by no means complete, considering the creativity of the human imagination. Still others identify a toad, or two handprints, or a tree, or a grandmother sitting in a rocking chair, perhaps reading a book. The list goes on.

No matter what we see in the moon (seriously, guys, let’s not fight over this), perhaps we should take a moment to relish in the fact that we can see it with the naked eye. As far as celestial views go, the moon is probably less thrilling than another planet. But the moon is indeed another world—with its own mountains and basins, its own bits of frozen water, even the tiniest slice of an atmosphere—and we can look upon it, night after night, without the need for powerful telescopes. We can process the dreamy view on our own, and see in it what we wish.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/the-man-in-the-moon-or-the-rabbit-or-toad-or-or-or/563450/