Did you know that America’s deadliest maritime disaster was not the Titanic? Or that an African-American woman refused to give up her seat on a bus 11 years before Rosa Parks did the same?

The crescent moon hugs close to the southwestern sky tonight. The moon is in the zodiacal constellation Leo and will be entering into the zodiacal constellation Virgo tomorrow night.

On Monday, the moon is first quarter and appears near Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. On Tuesday night, the moon approaches the bright planet Saturn.

Saturn

The nursery at the Animal Shelter is empty. Every one of the kittens was placed with a new family, having been spayed or neutered, immunized and given a microchip. They are in our records permanently, so if Tom or Tabby should wander off, the Animal Shelter can identify the little wanderer and, hopefully, return him/her to the owner. Keeping your cat indoors is recommended, especially now that summer brings a heavy increase in traffic.

Sam Low craves at least two things in life — the
strong
embrace of an ocean and the presence of a true ohana. He’s found both in two somewhat dissimilar places — Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii.

Ohana is a Hawaiian word that means extended family. Mr. Low’s father grew up in Hawaii but moved to New England at the age of 17. On the East Coast, he sought a lifestyle similar to his Hawaiian upbringing and found it on Martha’s Vineyard, where “everybody let their hair down and everybody was fishing and clamming,” Mr. Low explained.

It’s no secret. One glance at the shimmering sardine on the cover of Andy Sharpless’s new book The Perfect Protein reveals that the answer is simple: “We need to eat fish and lots of it . . . .”

It’s not a new message. “We all know fish are good for your brain, your heart and your nerves,” said Mr. Sharpless. “If you substitute fish for red meat, you get a reduction in obesity, heart disease, cancer. It’s interesting how our own biology is so tuned up to benefit from fish.”

Each week the folks at Cinema Circus show a series of short films on Wednesday evening at the Chilmark Community center. The films begin at 6 p.m. but the circus — complete with jugglers, face painters, stilt walkers, food and music — gets under way at 5 p.m.

The short films are programmed each week around a central theme, introduced in the first film by Professor Projector. This week’s theme is the characters of a movie.

An advanced screening of the films was arranged with a young cineaste. This week’s reviewer is Porter Moehnke

James Steinberg, a former deputy secretary of state, will present Crafting a Long-term Strategy for the U.S. in the Middle East on July 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven. His talk is part of the Summer Institute.

Mariners are being urged to proceed with caution through the waters of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket following the probable sighting Sunday of three right whales north of Oak Bluffs.

The whales were spotted two and three miles offshore, said Tim Cole, a fisheries biologist with the National Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

Less than 450 Atlantic right whales are known to be in existence, making them one of the most endangered marine mammals in this area.

Mint julep anyone? Louisa Gould is bringing the Kentucky Derby to Vineyard Haven as she shares a look at the jockeys, trainers, owners and horses through her photographer’s lens.

The West Tisbury Congregational Church, host of the Island’s most popular strawberry festival, are feeling blue at the moment — blueberry that is. On Saturday, July 13, the church will hold its first ever blueberry festival.