Sci fi Christmas lights

After dark last night, the fog crept in, shrouding my neighbourhood and turning street lights into strange floating orbs of glowing colour. The effect was science-fictionish –as if the lights were some form of UFOs or alien message. However, as I was falling asleep last night, the memory of the lights transformed into a dream image of choral singers standing in a row, each with a long white robe and a giant glowing faceless head. Bizarre, but also Christmasy.

In the words of a young man I overheard on Granville Island today, “Have a wonderful seasonal holiday based on the solstice!”

View from Grouse Mountain today

I went skiing on Grouse Mountain this morning (my first time skiing in ages). Down below, the city was shrouded in fog, but on top the mountain, we were in a world of sun and snow (and surprising warmth).

 

island mountain tops

ridges of sea monster back

rise from sea of fog

Time travel via fog

Downtown on Robson Street today, looking down Granville Street, something seemed wrong with the picture. Then I realized that the fog had erased the tall buldings normally looming behind the two-story older ones and had also erased the Granville Street bridge. As I walked away, a haiku started to form. By the time, I thought of going back to take a photo, the fog had dissipated, but you can still get the idea from the photo below, which I took a couple blocks west. I walked all around Robson St. and side streets looking at old apartment buildings and old Victorian houses, imagining (with the fog’s help) what the streets must have looked like when the old low-rise buildings lined every street, and high-rises, cellphones, etc. were still the stuff of science fiction.

 

fog turns back the clock

old buildings reclaim the street

new ones disappear

Can you make out the hint of taller buildings behind the old ones?