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I soooooo hope this is working....

The Darkness and the Light

Last week was weird. I lost someone, someone very close. Someone that, in theory, would have been responsible for me if the worse had happened. Trapped in a dark, dank cell of her own making, she couldn't take it anymore. And so she left. Seeing my grandparents shrivel and pass beyond the veil was tough, but they were old, with more days before than after, and sick. To see someone go through similar when she was neither is very weird. And brings back the old adage, people need to want to be helped, before than can be helped.

At the same time, the borrowing African mammal has been a beacon of niceness and hope. She's been a strength, a base of operations. Not only has she been there all the time, not 1 hour ago, she asked me how i wanted to cook in June, suggesting many dishes herself. And thats (it all) why I love her.

From the depths of darkness, to a new world of light. I love you, Jo. So much. And goodbye, aunt Cid. I shall see you too, Beyond the Veil.

I love old sci-fi and there's nothing you can do about it!

I think the keyword here is context. I love to include, to surround my stories with the context in which they were written. I like to know dates, countries, who, how, why.

Perhaps I should explain.

Stories, all stories, and sci fi is no exception, are a mirror to ourselves. We pour into them our fears, our dreams, our fantasies. Sci fi in particular, as a form of future prediction, is moulded by what is around when it is written. In E. E. 'Doc' Smith's Lensman saga, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is nuclear powered. Cars, planes, trains. Everything. And women are idiots. Well, at best, useless. (Although later in the series he introduces the first women sci fi character ever that is not stupid). Why? He was writing in 1949. The atomic age was 4 years old. And women were silly animals, kept at home.

And of course, a lot of the sci fi of the 50s, 60s and a bit of the 70s had to do with post-cataclysm Earth (the Cold War would do that to you)

The examples continue. In the original The Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu the robot is as scary as a dead bunny to 2011's eyes, but at the time? An unstoppable, all powerful robot? People must have been pooping themselves. Oh and you see doctors smoking in a hospital. I kid you not, its amazing.

And of course, the Daleks. Can you imagine a stupider design for a dangerous being? But at the time they appeared, they were evil incarnate. No emotion except hatred. Weapons powerful enough to destroy everything. How the kids must have been scared out of their wits.

How does current sci fi equate? With difficulty. But there are still a few groundbreakers. Either having humanity taking all its crap to the stars (Babylon 5, Firefly), or having bad guys that are 'unstoppable' not because they are wildly advanced, but because of their beliefs (Battlestar Galactica).

Oh and the original Star Trek series has an episode with alien hippies. I am so serious, you have to see it to believe it....

I love it. And there's nothing you can do about it!

Well.

Over the last week and change, I was ill. I'm thinking it was the flu, closely allied with something bacterial and nasty. The details are unimportant, bottom line was that I was as ill as I've ever been, in my life. I stopped eating (making me loose quite a bit of weight), couldn't move and felt, from head to toes, like crud.

It is in situations like these you start to value the small things. Not living alone, having someone to share the burdens with. Taking a deep breath and not feeling like reheated death. Yawning, and not starting to choke. Not feeling light-headed when I get up from bed.

Its been a slow recovery, but I'm getting there. And its good to feel good.

All shall fade.

I have no idea why this song touches me like it does. It just.... Does. It brings Middle Earth to life for me. It is a lament, but so is my native land's traditional music, and that's OK. Go to Youtube, check the original video, it's masterfully directed by Mr Peter Jackson.

All Shall Fade

Home Is Behind
The World Ahead
And There Are Many Paths To Tread
Through Shadow
To The Edge Of Night
Until The Stars Are All Aligth

Mist And Shadow
Cloud And Shade
All Shall Fade
All Shall...Fade

Zombies.

It becomes apparent, at times, that I have chose a very draining job. It leeches it out of me. Sometimes, I get home, and its all I can do to stay awake. I'm not complaining, really am not, I love what I do. But sometimes it feels like I shoud be an octopuss, 8 arms doing stuff at the same time. I feel like I coast, at times, like a zombie, I am so tired. But its all good. Half term exists for a reason!!

Plains, trains and maybe automobiles. Maybe.

I have a thing about booking plane tickets. It is half from a cock up a few years ago, that ended with me having to modify the booking (costing me twice as much in the process) and from the finality of it. Having no other demands on my time, I always thought something might pop up, and as such, booked things really late in the day. And I had to pay for it. Now there is something (someone!) that gives things a different color and shade. Someone that gives the future a purpose and point. I just booked tickets 2 months in advance!! And it felt pretty good... :)