the long now

i was listening to a radio program today about this amazing mechanical clock project called “the long now.” it will be built in the nevada desert and will run for 10,000 years, using temperature change as an energy source (the hot sun will cause metal in it to expand in daytime and the cold night will cause it to contract). it will have a different chime for every single day in those 10,000 years. while the clock will be constantly running from this sun energy, it will have to be wound by a person to display time — so when you visit, it will still tell you the time it was the last time a person updated it. it will stay accurate by adjusting itself to when the sun hits noon each day. in addition to logging calendar time (of multiple civilizations’ calendars), it will lso tell astronomical time of things like moon phases, equinoxes, position of planets, plus months, years, centuries, milennia. i am so inspired by this! i want to make art out of it! make a performance piece that follows the same design principles as the clock. or that is about the clock. or about time. so delicious.

also, i love the idea that “the long now” brings up. “now” isn’t fleeting — it’s eternal.