So About That Total Eclipse

To quote Terry Pratchett: “It doesn’t stop being magic just because you know how it works”

Fun Fact: A real eclipse was filmed during the production of the 1961 Biblical film "Barabbas." The director Richard Fleischer decided, after being informed that a total eclipse would occur in Italy, to shoot the scene of the death of Jesus Christ during such extraordinary event. This resulted in one of the most amazing scenes in Hollywood history

- "Did you guys see the sun today" - "Why, yes! And thus, we cannot see anymore" - "Ah, ok. Glad I wasn't the only one then"

"i may not get to go to space, but the cool thing about being on a planet... is that we are already in space" i cannot express how comforting that is to hear, as a person who was literally traumatized into hating and being terrified of the concept of getting on a plane, let alone going on a spaceship, but still loves to learn about space. i don't need to leave the ground; the ground is space, too

Red's like a werewolf but instead of turning into a wolf at the full moon she turns into a science communicator at any given event of astronomical significance

Red: "Hmm, I want to talk about this eclipse, but I need a way to visualize it for my viewers." "I know! I'll use Cleo, the creature with sharp claws and unpredictable temperament that I'm allergic to! I see no complications with this plan- AH, MY HUBRIS!"

For me, it was all the crowd reactions and the memefications that felt weirdly profound. Like, you’re watching people react to a natural space event as if it’s a Beatles concert and people on instagram are coming up with the funniest ways to anthropomorphise two celestial bodies, and it just fills me with a weird sense of community. Also, Red, you are poetic AF and your video essay section was glorious. Thank you for being you!!!

"It doesn't stop being magic just because you know how it works" - Terry Pratchett

"You're so stinkin' cute OWW." is the quintessential cat experience.

Sunburned by a solar eclipse. And that's why they call her "Red".

"Having a special interest can be like chewing the same piece of gum and hoping the flavour will come back" is so real. You got me misty eyed, Red, I relate so hard.

Oooohhh, I am EXCITED for a trope talk or whatever on Eclipses in culture! It's always such a powerful image, usually used as a Bad Omen. I really wanna hear about that.

🎵Your magnifying device is a deadly laser” “Not anymore there’s a filter”🎵

Red: "With the help of my lovely assistant, Cleo." It's good Red finally has some help to make things easier-- Cleo the Cat has entered the picture --I take what I said back, that's just going to make things so much worse...

Your rant about not being able to feel like you're experiencing something amazing... I can relate to that way more than I'm comfortable with. Good to know we're not alone.

The -1 hp bit was hilarious. I live near Buffalo, and we had cloud cover for totality but it cleared up before it was over and we got to watch it until it ended from the parking lot at work. It really did get as dark as night outside for a couple minutes

28:14 “Sometimes, having a special interest is like chewing old gum and expecting the flavor to come back.” I’ve never heard it described so well and so vividly. I have to pinball myself to different special interests periodically because of this. Feeling the “gum” lose its flavor is always so frustrating.

Ngl, one part of Eclipses that i think people dont consider enough is how weird they make everything around you. The weird ass physics that create sickle shadows or shadow bands. Like forget the bite taken out of the sun, what happens when youre in the woods, or just chilling by a willow tree when suddenly everything gets slightly darker, and all the shadows of all the leaves seem WRONG somehow. The ground beneath you writhes and shimmers. Then the darkness lifts and everything goes back to how it normally is. I wouldnt blame someone for thinking they temporarily slipped through another realm or something

I was there for the 2017 total eclipse by complete chance. I was in JobCorps in Oregon and they gave the whole center a couple hours off training classes to see it. We all went to the back bush where there was a firepit and a big field, they passed out eclipse glasses, and I cannot begin to describe the utter euphoria and awe that I experienced being there and seeing it happen. I still have the glasses as a souvenir of that once in a lifetime experience I had, by complete chance. If I hadn’t been at JobCosps, if I hadn’t picked the trade and center that I did, I would have missed it. Thank you Red, for reminding me of how it felt to be in the eye of a god. To know that fate can be fickle and Murphy’s Law cruel, but sometimes? Sometimes the universe lets something momentous happen. And I got to witness it. I might never get to see an eclipse from the Path of Totality again in my lifetime. But you reminded me that, I had once. And many other people will see it again. And they might feel the same way I felt in those brief moments of perfect alignment. It’s nice to not feel alone.

I just want to say, I really love the camera-fit-for-animation picture quality. I know it probably wasn't intentional, but it gives the air of authentic, "I didn't plan to record this, but I just couldn't help myself," energeticness, almost like found footage from a rare cataclysm.