18 December 25

Today (18 December) is recognized by onthisdate.com as the date in 1849 for the first photograph (a daguerrreotype) of the moon through a telescope, attributed to William Cranch Bond (1789-1859). Other sources put the date for this event in 1850. My moonscape tie was a Christmas present in 2016 from nephew Matt Lang.

13 October 24

Today is Matt Lang's birthday! He and Carter Rae Beatty survived through Hurricane Helene's recent ravaging floods around Asheville, NC. He gave me this moonscape tie for Christmas in 2016. Other years I've worn my steam locomotives tie for him, but this time I'm happy to show off these craters.

24 June 22

My nephew C. Nolan Huizenga was born on 24 June! He has been a fan of all things spacey for many years. He says "my very first grainy memories are of watching the Apollo 11 landing, on a little black and white TV the summer I was two years old." He asked me to wear my moonscape tie today. I am not skilled with lunar topography (also known as geography of the Moon, cartography of the Moon, selenography, or selenodesy) and so I cannot name the specific craters in this image.

20 July 21

Celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the first steps of humans on the Moon . . . There are some efforts to get Moon Day designated as a national holiday! I have not done my research yet to get the navigational coordinates for this region of the lunar surface.

20 July 20

If you were at least a few years old in 1969, do you have memories of the BIG NEWS for today? "MEN WALK ON MOON!" I was in Canada, on the northern shore of Lake Erie, traveling with a Youth for Christ teen choral group. We saw the grainy videos of Tranquility Base where "the Eagle" had landed.

18-20 July 19

'Tis the season to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first humans landing on the surface of the Earth's single moon, on 20 July 1969. I was almost-16, and I watched the grainy videos from Apollo 11 on a TV in Gananoque, Ontario, while touring with a Youth For Christ high school singing group called The Eastsiders. I highly recommend watching the PBS American Experience series "Chasing the Moon" to gain historical perspective on the many figures and forces in the 1961-1969 era.

4 June 19

Three years ago today we helped celebrate the marriage of Curtis Nolan Huizenga and Aimee Moiso! I think a major theme for the event was "glory to God in the highest heavens," including wonderful decorations for the moon, planets and stars (and some planetary socks on Nolan's feet). I'm wearing my moonscape tie for them today!

11 January 18

Joseph Caminiti, my nephew(-in-law) in Pennsylvania, is celebrating his birthday today! He asked me to wear my moonscape tie, with this rationale: "I love the beautiful pockmarked texture, and the vast cosmic story it tells." And this month has two Super Moons!

21 August 17

For this Day of Darkness, I'm letting the moon shine out from my tie. (You could also consider my attire as showing the moon standing in front of this "son.") The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 will shade the earth today, with the path of totality stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. In Richmond, KY, I'll use my eclipse glasses to view the moon covering 95% of the sun's surface.

12 January 17

The first full moon of 2017 creates the opportunity to wear this great Christmas gift, from nephew Matt Lang. The moon theme also connects to today's birthday of Clement Hurd (1908-1988), the illustrator for "Goodnight Moon"!