it is 4 am

do you know where your children are?

i'm up right now because there is going to be a total lunar eclipse starting at 0451. it will take about an hour for the moon to be fully eaten by the Earth's shadow. for another hour and a half, every wannabe sorcerer and witch in the Eastern Daylight Time zone will be hustling to perform those once-in-a-lifetime blood rites, or whatever it is those crazy cats are doing these days.

there's nothing special about a lunar eclipse other than turning the moon into a hue of red -- like some sort of apocalyptic sign. i really didn't have to wake up, but i said i would and i'm not about to give up free bragging rights. i've got plenty of time to sleep after sunrise (which i will probably watch as well).

so i will head out to stand around in my yard for two hours pondering the mysteries of life, love and ladles (big and little ones). maybe i'll practice some waterbending to pass the time (waterbenders are strongest when the moon is full).

EDIT: 0610
i'm back inside now.
instead of standing in the yard, i maneuvered a park bench to face the West. i sat down as the top of the full moon started to become obscured. at about 1/3 coverage, i went back inside to cook up some breakfast (many mini pizzas). i came back out while they baked in the toaster oven. in the meantime, the moon had the upper half of its face eaten by the shadow. it looked like a kitten head. i wish i had a camera capable of capturing the moon. little point-and-shoots don't really catch the details when shooting astronomical distances.

when i came back out after retrieving my many cooked mini pizzas, it looked like a squashed kitten head. i lounged on the bench, eating my many cooked mini pizzas as the moon turned red. it passed behind some powerline towers as the eclipse reached fullness. with a stationary point of reference, i could visably see the moon arcing down into the horizon. i lost it behind a house.

so then i turned my attention to the sunrise, which was hot on the heels of the moonset. having seen the sunrise many times before under more favourable waterside circumstances, and having run out of cooked mini pizzas, i decided to turn it in. on my way into my room, i saw my mom coming out of hers.