Contributor Posts

This happening recurs almost every year in the
Great State of California. Why isn't this a fixable,
situation. Certainly, must have some impact on
Global Warming, not to mention the lost properties
and all the memories that burned.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

New stars are born from the remnants of dead stars. The gaseous remnant of the gravitational collapse and subsequent death of a very massive star in our Milky Way created the G296.5+10.0 supernova remnant, of which the featured Mermaid Nebula is part. Also known as the Betta Fish Nebula, the Mermaid Nebula makes up part of an unusual subclass of supernova remnants that are two-sided and nearly circular. Originally discovered in X-rays, the filamentary nebula is a frequently studied source also in radio and gamma-ray light. The blue color visible here originates from doubly ionized oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by hydrogen gas. The nebula's mermaid-like shape has proven to be useful for measurements of the interstellar magnetic field.

Photo by Neil Corke; Text: Natalia Lewandowska (SUNY Oswego)

"While most love songs are inspired by the joys and heartaches of romantic relationships, love between friends can be just as intense and complicated. Many people struggle to make and maintain friendships, and a falling-out with a close friend can be as painful as a breakup with a partner." More at The Conversation ➜

Blowing wind,
across meadow and plain.
Rushing through as if
a Midnight train.

Carrying dirt and debris,
across the valley. where you be.
bringing your love,
home to me.

I can feel a change, in myself today.
When I leave this place,
I hope to leave with,
my full dignity and grace.

It appears there is a change and
my time may be drawing nigh.
I will hang on as long as I can.
I know, I will at least, try.

I sit here trying to recall the "old" days,
when I was an enlisted man, in the US Navy. Actually,
I was a Third-Class Petty Officer. I cite in this writing,
coming back from liberty, in a foreign port and the procedure
we were expected to do.

Be you the person,
with dreams in your head,
from the moment you awoke,
and arose from your bed.

We need dreamers,
in this great world, ours,
or you may still be riding horses,
instead riding in cars.

I was a long way,
a long way from home,
when I realized I was lost.
Lost in my mind.

Why the sadness?
What had I done?
Why was I thinking,
you were the one?

When the action, you took,
never came into play,
and here we are looking,
at a new, old day.

Sometime ago,
in a land forlorn,
when I arrived,
the year I was born.

Times were tough,
I've been told.
Looking for work,
was getting old.

Jobs on the Railroad,
a section gang for me.
Laying new rail and tracks,
in Montana, where I be.

The middle of the depression,
when money was tight,
as bills were mounting,
as we worried through the night.

I can see you have returned.
My old friend, Depression,
has reared its ugly head,
as my gloomy mood is in procession.

Why do you come back
into my life?
You nibble the edges, of
the memory of my late wife.

What am I to do with
this way I feel,
when I know your motive,
is not real?

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Cosmic clouds form fantastic shapes in the central regions of emission nebula IC 1805. The clouds are sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the nebula's newborn star cluster, Melotte 15. About 1.5 million years young, the cluster stars are scattered in this colorful skyscape, along with dark dust clouds in silhouette against glowing atomic gas. A composite of narrowband and broadband telescopic images, the view spans about 15 light-years and includes emission from ionized hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms mapped to green, red, and blue hues in the popular Hubble Palette. Wider field images reveal that IC 1805's simpler, overall outline suggests its popular name - the Heart Nebula. IC 1805 is located about 7,500 light years away toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia.

Photo by Richard McInnis