KAREN BABINE: Presents “The Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,” in conversation with Chris Hewitt. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

TIM BRADY: Launches “A Light in the Northern Sea: Denmark’s Incredible Rescue of Their Jewish Citizens During WWII.” 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

MINNESOTA MYSTERY NIGHT: Turns to South Africa with author Stanley Trollip in conversation with New York historical mystery writer Annamaria Alfieri. Trollip, a retired professor who divides his time between Cape Town, Minneapolis and Copenhagen, is the writing partner of Michael Sears, another South African writer. Their best-known series features Detective Kubu, written under the pen name Michael Stanley. The most recent in their series, number eight, is “A Deadly Covenant.” Trollip’s latest solo book, “Wolfman,” features investigative reporter Crystal Nguyen, a prequel to “Dead of Night,” a thriller also written with Sears. Their books are set in Botswana. Alfieri writes the Vera and Tolliver historical mysteries set in British East Africa. 7 p.m. Monday, Lucky’s 13 Pub, 1352 Sibley Memorial Highway, Mendota.  $13 reservation charge. Go to mnmysteryight.com.

(Courtesy of Red Hen Press)

MOLLY OLGUIN: Seattle-based queer writer, educator and monster aficionado discusses “The Sea Gives Up the Dead,” including stories about a lovesick nanny who slays a dragon, a devil who tries to save her mother, and a mermaid who falls under the power of a witch. 6 p.m. Thursday, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

MORGAN RYAN: Presents “A Resistance of Witches” in conversation with Emma Torzs. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

THREE AUTHORS: Minnesota fiction writers sign their latest books: John Gaspard (“Twisting the Aces”), Judy Kerr (“Postmarked Castle Cove”), Mary Seifert (“Airplanes, Atlanta & an Assassin”). Noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

AMY TINTERA: California-based author discusses her novel “Listen For the Lie” presented by Books & Bars and Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, moderated by Jeff Kamin. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Urban Growler, 2325 Endicott St., St. Paul.

What else is going on

Carolyn Holbrook (Courtesy of the author)

There’s going to be a lot of happiness today at Flava Cafe in St. Paul when early-career writers in the Go Back & Fetch It program, sponsored by More Than a Single Story, celebrate the end of the first year of the mentoring program with a reading. Congratulations to the young writers and especially to Carolyn Holbrook, amazing founder of More Than a Single Story.

Holbrook, who could be considered the godmother of Black Twin Cities writers, is an award-winning author and teacher at Hamline University. She was a single mother when she founded the Whittier Writers Workshop in a Minneapolis park, then began SASE: The Write Place, an influential organization that reached hundreds of writing students and sponsored readings around the Twin Cities.

In 2015, Holbrook used some of her Minnesota State Arts Board grant to produce More Than a Single Story, a three-program series at the Loft Literary Center featuring Twin Cities women writers of the African diaspora, aimed at showing there are cultures represented by women who should not be simply defined as “Black” writers. Holbrook wasn’t sure how the series would be received, but she needn’t have worried. There was standing room only at the first program attended by a diverse audience.

Now we are in 2025, and More Than a Single Story is an umbrella organization made up of more programs, as shown in the July newsletter. Among them are The Sweeter the Juice Salon series for mid-career and established Black writers and Our Stories, Ourselves, panels and writing workshops that include Embracing Our Roots and Writer to Writer; in which writers pair up to discuss their work and their lives. The newest program, which begins in August, is Turning the Pages, workshops and mentorships in book publishing.

Holbrook was 75 in 2020 when her memoir “Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify” was published by the University of Minnesota Press and won a Minnesota Book Award. She is also winner of the Minnesota Book Awards Kay Sexton Award for outstanding contributions to the Minnesota literary community.  Among her other accomplishments: First person of color to hold a leadership position at the Loft Literary Center; originator of first-in-the-nation grants for spoken-word artists, earning her the nickname “Slam Granny”; AARP/Pollen Midwest 50 over 50 honoree; and Hamline University Exemplary Teacher Award. She is co-editor with David Mura of the anthology “We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World” (University of Minnesota Press).

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There are so many great stories in the over 60 constellations available to us in our night sky. There are heroes, hunters, musical instruments, royalty and all kinds of critters, including eight birds. Cygnus the Swan is the biggest and brightest of the celestial birds, and is now flying very high in the early evening southeastern sky. The brightest star in Cygnus is Deneb, shining brightly at the end of its tail feathers. Deneb is also one of the stars that make up the very large “Summer Triangle,” which can help you find your way in the summer heavens. The other Summer Triangle stars are Vega and Altair, the brightest stars in their respective constellations, Lyra (the Harp) and Aquila (the Eagle). Just look for the three brightest stars in the high southern sky, and that’s it!

Deneb is the highest but dimmest star in the triangle, but it is not a puny star. On the contrary, it’s a fantastically massive star at least 1,500 light-years away, with just one light-year equaling almost 6 trillion miles. It’s so far away that the light we see from it tonight left that star around 500 AD. Theoretically, it could explode tonight, and our great-great-great-great-grandkids wouldn’t see the explosion until well after 3500.

Diagram of the constellation Cygnus (Mike Lynch)

Cygnus the Swan contains within it a pattern of stars called the Northern Cross. It’s much easier to see the Northern Cross before looking for the rest of the Swan. Face south and you’ll see Deneb sitting at the top of the diagonally orientated cross. Down and to the right of Deneb, you should easily see the three stars that make up the crosspiece. At the foot of the cross is the not-so-impressive star Albireo, at least to the naked eye. However, with a small telescope, or one of the newer smart photographic scopes that are really catching on, you’ll see that Albireo is not just one star but a beautiful pair of stars, one gold and the other blue. It’s one of the best double stars in the night sky. While Albireo appears to be a double star system, it’s more complicated than that. The gold star is actually a tight three-star system, consisting of three stars so close together that they appear as one.

Albireo (Mike Lynch)

It’s easy to expand on the Northern Cross and find the entire swan. To do that, make Deneb the tail of the swan and Albireo the swan’s head. Then look for fainter stars just off and slightly to the left of both sides of the crosspiece. These stars make up the wingtips. Draw a curved line from one wingtip through the crosspiece stars and onto the opposite wingtip stars, and you have the entire wingspan of Cygnus.

The Greek mythology story of how Cygnus came to be in the sky is a sad one, although it has a somewhat happy ending. Helios, the Greek name for the god of the sun, was one of the upper echelons of the gods on Mount Olympus. Every day, he was responsible for guiding the sun across the sky, encased in a giant glass chariot. A fleet of flying white horses gallantly pulled the chariot.

Phaethon, one of Helios’ many children, idolized his dad and very much wanted to eventually take over the reins of the sun chariot when Helios retired. At just 10 years old, Phaethon begged his dad to let him take the sun chariot for a ride, but Helios said no, and for good reason. It was a colossal accident waiting to happen. Even so, Phaethon, in his youthful exuberance, was convinced he could handle it. One morning, temptation set in, and the inevitable disaster followed.

Helios overslept that morning, and Phaethon realized that this was his chance. He entered the hangar with the golden chariot, climbed in, backed it out, and bellowed a celestial “giddy up!” to the flying horses. Before he knew it, he was airborne.

Surprisingly he handled the sun vehicle like a pro at first, but soon he got cocky and lost control of the chariot. A crash of celestial proportions was moments away. If the sun crashed, the entire world would turn into a blaze of fire. From Mount Olympus, Zeus, the king of the gods, saw what was happening and took immediate action. He couldn’t tell who was in the driver’s seat but knew it wasn’t Helios. Not recognizing Phaethon, he concluded it was an enemy intruder at the reins. He frantically shouted down to Helios for help and then shot a lightning bolt at Phaethon, spearing him out of the driver’s seat and on the way to a fatal plunge. Meanwhile, with all his might, Helios catapulted himself up to the chariot and jumped into the seat. He got control of it just before the sun catastrophically crashed.

Meanwhile, Phaethon plunged into the river Po and was killed on impact. At that height, it was like slamming into a cement slab. Soon after, Helios and Zeus tragically discovered who was shot out of the chariot and met his demise. Other gods recognized the body as well and were just as grief-stricken. As a lasting memorial, they magically transformed his body into the beautiful constellation we see today as Cygnus the Swan.

Enjoy the high-flying swan of the night sky!

A celestial “hugging.” (Mike Lynch)

Celestial Hugging This Week: Very early morning risers this coming Tuesday can see the waning crescent moon parked between the bright planets Jupiter and Venus in the early morning twilight.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

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Today is Sunday, July 20, the 201st day of 2025. There are 164 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching its surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

Also on this date:

In 1917, America’s World War I draft lottery began as Secretary of War Newton Baker, wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258 during a ceremony inside the Senate office building.

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In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.

In 1951, Jordan’s King Abdullah I was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman who was shot dead on the spot by security.

In 1976, America’s Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.

In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court’s most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.

In 1993, White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster Jr., 48, was found shot to death in a park near Washington, D.C.; it was ruled a suicide.

In 2006, the Senate voted 98-0 to renew the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another quarter-century.

In 2007, President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.

In 2012, gunman James Holmes opened fire inside a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. (Holmes was later convicted of murder and attempted murder, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)

In 2015, the United States and Cuba restored full diplomatic relations after more than five decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 89.
Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Oliva is 87.
Artist Judy Chicago is 86.
Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 81.
Singer Kim Carnes is 80.
Rock musician Carlos Santana is 78.
Author and commentator Thomas Friedman is 72.
Rock musician Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) is 69.
Actor Frank Whaley is 62.
Conservationist and TV personality Terri Irwin is 61.
Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 59.
Actor Josh Holloway (TV: “Lost”) is 56.
Singer Vitamin C is 56.
Actor Sandra Oh is 54.
Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg is 52.
Actor Omar Epps is 52.
Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen is 50.
Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk is 47.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 45.
Actor Percy Daggs III is 43.
Actor John Francis Daley is 40.
Dancer-singer-actor Julianne Hough is 37.
Former MLB pitcher Stephen Strasburg is 37.

Minnesota United flipped back to Page 1 of its playbook — scoring on set pieces — to take a second-half lead on the Timbers on Saturday.

But the Loons gave up an equalizer in stoppage time and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in Portland, Ore. The Timbers were able to salvage a point on their 50-year anniversary celebration at Providence Park.

With San Diego and Vancouver playing to a draw in Southern California, MNUFC (11-6-7, 41 points) squandered a chance to move into a first-place tie with San Diego.

The Loons’ success on set plays returned when they scored on a recycled corner kick in the 78th minute, with Anthony Markanich’s header finishing off a great cross from Julian Gressel.

But in the second minute of stoppage time, Omir Fernandez got between Loons defenders Jefferson Díaz and Gressel to score at the back post. He finished a cross from Juan Mosquera, who put a shot off the crossbar moments earlier.

Markanich has scored four goals in the last five matches to give him six on the season. Gressel had his third assist since joining Minnesota in May.

Minnesota was more dangerous in the first half with an 8-4 edge in total shots, but Felipe Mora’s shot on a counterattack was the best overall chance of the first half. But the Portland forward’s shot went straight to goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair in first-half stoppage time.

With veteran leaders Michael Boxall and Wil Trapp given respites outside the starting lineup, St. Clair wore the captain’s armband for the first time this season. Boxall received the armband when he subbed in, alongside Trapp, at halftime.

Briefly

Joaquín Pereyra and Nico Romero’s bookings for yellow cards on Saturday will result in both Argentines being issued one-match suspensions for accumulation against St. Louis City next Saturday. … Sam Shashoua will go on loan with Birmingham Legion in the USL Championship for the rest of the 2025 season, the club said Saturday. … Joseph Rosales grabbed his right hamstring when he subbed out in the 75th minute.