First Day of the Year

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Stephen Whiteside
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First Day of the Year

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:19 am

First Day of the Year

© Stephen Whiteside 01.01.2012

Here we are again - first day of the year. So the Earth is back where it was this time last year. There's no direction in space, and the surface of the Sun does not have fixed, identifiable features, so we can't say exactly WHERE we are, except that it's the SAME PLACE.

But hang on. The Universe is expanding, right? So that means the sun must be moving. So that means that even though we are in the same place as last year RELATIVE to the sun, our ABSOLUTE position must be different. That's right, isn't it? So how much have we moved compared to last year? Can anybody measure these things?

I tried to Google the speed of the sun some time ago, but I was told the answer can only be calculated in mathematical terms. It is not possible to measure it directly. That's frustrating, but also understandable. After all, GPS relies on satellites circling the Earth, doesn't it. We'd need satellites circling the stars to calculate positions in space. Maybe we will one day. But even then, they would only be able to measure things in relative terms, because the stars are all moving too, but in absolute terms and relative to each other. So what hope is there?

But are movement and position quite the same in this context? Or are they themselves more elastic, like Time?

None of these things would normally matter, and I don't suppose they still do. It's just that I dropped a poem on New Year's Day last year, and I was hoping to pick it up as we swung past the same spot again today.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

Neville Briggs
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Re: First Day of the Year

Post by Neville Briggs » Sun Jan 01, 2012 12:48 pm

At my age, Stephen, I have enough trouble working out what day it is. I'm sure you're on the right track, let us know how you get on. The other Stephen, Hawking that is, might be able to help you out. :shock: :)
Last edited by Neville Briggs on Sun Jan 01, 2012 7:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Neville
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: First Day of the Year

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Sun Jan 01, 2012 3:30 pm

How I get on, Neville? I was hoping you'd be able to answer my questions - or maybe Marty. He's the scientist, isn't he?
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
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Maureen K Clifford
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Re: First Day of the Year

Post by Maureen K Clifford » Sun Jan 01, 2012 5:29 pm

Yeah Marty would know he was able to work out the Santa Clause equation taking into account time zones, wind speed, equatorial pull etc etc and I bet he knows the answer to that time old question - if it takes 4 men 7 hours to dig a hole how long would it take 3 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.

william williams

Re: First Day of the Year

Post by william williams » Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:15 am

Hell stephen man we know you can write but I thought that this was yarn spinners of past forum not future istic mumbo jumbo sorry but that is just my opinion

bill the old battler

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: First Day of the Year

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:03 am

That's fair enough, William. I take your point.

There were two ideas broadly running through my mind. The first was that the thread was designed with self-contained yarns in mind, rather than the chapters of a novel. I half expected a complaint with the last novel, but it didn't come - in fact what feedback I did receive was very positive - so I decided to press on.

The second thought, as you quite rightly point out, relates to the fact that 'yarn-spinning' and 'futuristic fiction' are not natural bedfellows. So I was aware that I was pushing the boundaries a bit. Of course, the chapters are pretty clearly labelled, so they're easy to avoid, and they don't really get in the way of reading anything else - although perhaps they do a bit.

When I started this line of writing, I was mindful of the way writers like Dickens often 'serialised' their novels - individual chapters were published in magazines before the novel had been completed. I thought this was a very courageous way to write, and I wanted to test myself - see if I could do it too. I like the idea of throwing myself off a new cliff (metaphorically speaking!) every morning.

Perhaps I got away with Horatio because it was not futuristic - or maybe just because it was the first. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm happy to pull the plug. I don't want to upset anybody.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
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william williams

Re: First Day of the Year

Post by william williams » Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:26 am

don't get me wrong Stephen glad to see you can write a veriety of things mine's mostly the bush and its surrounds of which I love and grew up with

Bill Williams

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Maureen K Clifford
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Re: First Day of the Year

Post by Maureen K Clifford » Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:02 pm

Just throw in some kinetik koalas and roos, some speculative snakes, toss in the odd sapient who can blame everything on the Whuffie bank and you will be writing futuristic Bush yarns and poetry and you will be hailed as a man way ahead of his time long after you have died Stephen. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I like the places your mind wanders off to - 'cause I wouldn't get to explore these places otherwise. It makes us armchair travellers.
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Re: First Day of the Year

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:23 pm

Thanks, Maureen. Appreciated.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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