Red building

The Only Constance is Changed, a short story

The Only Constance is Changed
by Eolake Stobblehouse


"Happy birthday, Constance, Darling. So this is... how old are you now?"

"Two hundred and eleven years."

"And you have looked like... this, for how long?"

"The snake? Oh, six years. Almost. I quite like it."

"Yes. Mm-hm. Well, certainly different. Very... decorative, in a Dadaist sort of way."

"Yes, Daddy, quite so." [smile]

"Have you spoken to your mother recently?"

"No. She is still off the Neptune way."

"Oh yes, quite right."

"She is expecting it to last for the rest of the century, according to her log."

"Oh. Yes. Sixty years. Well. To travel is to live, as the ancients said. I suppose."

[Curling around the couch] "How is your lover? The redhead?"

[Sigh] "She is... a bitch."

"Daddy! How unlike you. Did you have a falling out?"

[Slight smile] "Oh. Oh. Oh. No, what I mean is... literally. Of the canine variety. I guess she got bored... or something."

[short laugh] "Ah!"

[Embarrassed laugh]

"So..."

"So..."

[Together] "Would you like to..."

"Sorry, Daddy, you first."

"Well, how about coming to visit me. Physically, here on Luna? We could..."

"Oh, Dad, that is very sweet, but really... what is happening on Luna? It is not even fully terraformed yet."

"Is that what is important to you? What is 'happening'? What is 'the rage' at the moment? What your friends think, perhaps?"

"Daddy, you should know better. I am doing important work for U of Mars, and several of my satellite parts are deep in physical environs which make telepresence on an interplanetary scale unworkable. It just isn't practical."

"Uh. Satellite parts. Yes, okay. [Sigh] "Yes, baby, I am not sure about any of all this. Sometimes I feel like I just don't know you anymore."

===
The end

Gilmore Girls forever

I have not watched TV for a couple of years. It's great.
Instead I sniff out the best shows and get the DVD. More costly, but a vastly superiour experience in so many ways, especially when you get a whole season at a time.
One of the slam dunks this year for me is Gilmore Girls.
To the untrained eye it may look like just another soap opera slash romantic comedy kinda thing. And surely this is in its geenes somewhere, but this is a whole 'nother story. This show is so intelligent and so witty!
All the characters are wonderfully real and original, and they all manage to somehow be funny, without being laughable.
And the best thing is the warmth of the show, the characters, and the stories. This is something which is really, really rare, especially if you want to combine it with a high level of intelligence and perspective.
I love these people and this show. I have watched three seasons in a few weeks, and I am already starting to get sad that only a bit less than two seasons are still on my shelf!
Oh, I recommend not catching a couple shows on TV, you'll get spoilers. Instead just dive in with the first season on DVD. I'll refund you if you regret it.

Copenhagen habor

Nothing spectacular about this photo, but I find I like it anyway. Pleasant, methinks.

Amazingly all those buildings are brand new. Copenhagen and Denmark has been building like crazy in the past ten years, including a bridge to Sweeden, and a bridge between the two main land masses, which I believe is the longest in the world.

Strange, I have not found anybody who could tell me what this strait of water is called. (Langebro goes across it.) I used to live near it, and I have no clue either. The world is weird, only our minds are weirder.

Exploratorium

I found a very cool institution and web site, the Exploratorium.
I found it while googling for info on how bicycles work. And it has tons of information just on that one topic alone. Way more than any other site I found so far, and easily understood.
The institution is partly financed by memberships, so I bought one.

House and girders