( Derailed )

I have been absent of late.

Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

I am, in face, still very alive, and we are going to Polaris. :D

*waves to anyone who remembers who the heck I am*

Last night was navy blue.

The clouds were white and bright, reflecting the light of suburbia, and they made the sky look like marble. There were stars visible, Fool's Gold amidst the clouds. It was like a painting, like a time and space, and I had the sense that is always true: we will never walk beneath exactly the same sky again.

My husband took the lead, as it was icy underfoot, and he could alert me of difficult parts, and the dog trotted beside me with a decreasing level of joy as it was cold, cold, cold. The moon was there, somewhere, but I didn't see it. The marble sky made it seem almost like dawn, due to the brightness.

Or perhaps it was like an alien sky, on a world I will never see.

My breath puffed before me like pale cotton candy and the trees were eerily still. I will not walk that night again, but if I'm very fortunate, I will have many nights yet to follow.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Major John McCrae

In memory of all who have fought to make this big blue marble we call home a safe, happy and better place for all.

And thinking of you, Dad. How can I not? We love you, so very much, and will never forget. Thank you.

Here is the third of four stories I entered into the contest.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion."

- Roy Batty, Blade Runner, 1982 

Other incredible things? The body of Lenin in his tomb in Red Square. The galaxy, viewed to spectacular advantage from Wilberforce in Northern Ontario.

Episodes of Doctor Who, completely out of the order in which they should be viewed... ;)

I finally saw 'Army of Ghosts' and 'Doomsday' a few weeks ago. I knew what happened but I hadn't actually seen them yet. Took me this long to remember I wanted to post about them, and this long to actually post.

Amazing episodes. That's the short form. The long form could go beneath a cut but I'm exhausted and need an early night. However, I will add a few thoughts and hide them under a cut, in case someone hasn't seen the episodes yet...