Melancholy

Pictures like this one sometimes sparked a debate as to whether a home planetarium invoked a sense of melancholy or not. For how could a theater of the fantastic, of wonder and endless possibility also make one sad? It was a good question, yet a home-based setup often sits idle for long periods, gathers dust, speaks of its limits rather than its boundless potential. Lack of infrastructure, permanence, and perfection struggle against the desire to be an institution. Can dreams end up in the dumpster? Well that was one way to put it - but maybe there was just one more flip of that rusty fuse box left in the old place. Its day was surely coming, but maybe it wasn't THIS day?