The red kite is one of the most strikingly beautiful European birds of prey. Hunted to the brink of extinction in the 19th century, visitors today can spot them along the Galloway Kite Trail, a 24-mile circular route around Loch Ken.
Red kites were extinct in Scotland for decades, having been exterminated by gamekeepers on the great estates who wrongly believed they were detrimental to the hunting of game birds. Thankfully, since 1989, various reintroduction programs have been successfully carried out across the UK. In Galloway, releases began in 2001, and today, the species is a major contributor to tourism in the region. The trail offers a unique opportunity to see these amazing birds and to witness some of the efforts that went into their reintroduction.
The trail can be followed by car or bike, and in the summer, it can be extended for an additional 14 miles, deep into Galloway Forest Park. It can be followed on foot, but the main trail does include some busy roads.
Although a complete tour of the trail is highly encouraged, many visitors are satisfied with just stopping by the feeding station at Laurieston, where every day at 2 p.m., as many as 100 kites engage in an exciting feeding frenzy. It isn't necessary to maintain the population, but it allows visitors to get close to the birds, raising awareness and creating an environment in which political support for the reintroduction program can be sustained.
Among the many other highlights of the trail are the "Secret Cages" deep in the Galloway Forest Park, from which the first releases were made. No longer in use, the design of these structures ensured that while chicks received food, they could not see the humans who were providing it.
Baconsthorpe Castle, located in the countryside of Norfolk, is a remarkable example of a fortified manor house that evolved over several centuries. The castle was originally constructed in the mid-15th century by Sir John Heydon, a prominent local lawyer and soldier, who sought to establish a grand residence befitting his status. The Heydon family retained ownership of the castle for nearly 200 years, during which time it underwent various expansions and modifications.
The castle is divided into two main parts: the outer gatehouse and the inner moated manor. The outer gatehouse, which remains impressively intact, served as the primary defensive structure and entrance to the estate. Beyond this lies the inner courtyard, surrounded by the ruins of the residential buildings and the central hall.
The decline of Baconsthorpe Castle began in the late 17th century, when the Heydon family fortunes waned, leading to the estate being partially dismantled and repurposed for building materials. Despite this, significant portions of the structure have survived, offering visitors a vivid glimpse into its past splendor. Today, the castle is managed by English Heritage and stands as a peaceful and evocative ruin, perfect for exploring and imagining life in a medieval fortified manor.
DON'T FORGET! The October firewhiskeyfic votes are due tomorrow Friday, October 10th.
There are a few folks who have not voted yet and there are some categories that are wide open! If you created something for this month's event, you are required to vote to win!
There are 10 pieces for your viewing (and voting) pleasure!
I had a chiropractic appointment and a pedicure this morning. (This time and last time I've chosen colors that look 'autumn-ish' to me in order to celebrate the season. Last time it was an orange-ish brown, and this time an orange-ish red.) It was a no shopping (downtown) day! I got in a walk around the park. I did stop at Stewart’s on the way home from mom’s later on.
I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter.
I typed in edits and got my fandomgiftbasket fic posted. I also looked through a few other baskets; there are fandoms/pairings I can write, I just need to get some ideas to flow.
Temps started out at 53.8(F) and reached 65.7. It rained until about 8am and eventually the sun came out, though it kept hiding behind clouds and it was windy.
Dylan: I’m good. You’re in the studio. It’s fun to see you in the like real recording studio.
Baudelaire: Yeah, you know, it’s nice to come into the city, feel like I have a job, you know, do the thing.
Dylan: Yeah. And you’re going on like a family trip soon too, right?
Baudelaire: I am. I am. I’m going to Grenada in the southeast of the Caribbean.
Dylan: It seems like you’ve taken an interest in that part of the world. You’ve been pitching some like stories from the Caribbean lately.
Baudelaire: Yeah, absolutely. You know, my interest, it started in Haiti, but then like I found these parallel stories in other parts of the Caribbean, right? And then these other islands in the Caribbean have similar ingredients, right? Like, you know, European colonizing and, you know, indigenous people, Africans brought there, but they each created something unique at the same time.
Dylan: There’s a lot there, totally.
Baudelaire: Yeah. Yeah. So like in my search throughout the Caribbean, I found this one story that I think, I think you’re really going to be into it.
Dylan: Where are we going in the Caribbean?
Baudelaire: All right. We’re going to Martinique, southeast Caribbean, and we’re telling the story of a volcano eruption.
Dylan: This is like one of the most disastrous volcano eruptions of all time, right? This is like one of the truly, ultimate volcano disasters?
Baudlaire: Yes, absolutely. Right at the turn of the century, 1902 clears out an entire city and only one man survives.
Dylan: This is such a, I know this is such a crazy story.
My name is Baudelaire, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Today, I tell the story of Ludger Sylbaris, possibly the best ever example of being in the wrong place at the right time.
This is an edited transcript of the Atlas Obscura Podcast: a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. Find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps.
Dylan: All right. So where does the story start? Set the stage for us.
Baudelaire: Okay. So, the story starts May 7th, 1902, in what was known as the “Paris of the Caribbean,” Saint-Pierre, Martinique.
Dylan: Tell me a little bit about it. What’s it like there?
Baudelaire: All right. Well, it’s like the economic and cultural hub of Martinique. You know, coastal city, busy port, colorful homes.
Dylan: This is a rich colonial port city.
Baudelaire: Absolutely. But on this specific day, May 7th, we got a bunch of people coming in from the countryside, and they’re all saying that this mountain, Mount Pelée, which is only eight miles outside of the city, there’s gas coming up from the volcano. Birds are starting to fly down the volcano towards the city. Ants are starting to come in droves towards the city. So, they think something’s up.
Dylan: When all of the spiders and snakes start fleeing, that’s a strong indication that things are not going to go well.
Baudelaire: Exactly. So, people come to the city and they tell the authorities like, hey, something’s probably about to happen. And the authorities are like, nah, you’re overreacting.
Dylan: Oh, really? They’re not doing anything?
Baudelaire: No. Authorities are like, nah, don’t worry about it. Not a big deal.
Dylan: Okay. So if the authorities are not helping evacuate this island, which does seem like maybe the thing they should be doing, what are they up to with their time?
Baudelaire: Well, a few authorities are worried about this guy, Ludger Sylbaris. He works by the docks and he’s a guy that likes to enjoy a drink or two, we’ll call it.
Dylan: Of course, you’re a dock worker. It’s 1902. Let the man have a drink. I’m sure he’s drinking responsibly.
Baudelaire: Yeah. But the thing about Ludger is when he would start drinking, usually he would either end up in a brawl or be in the middle of starting a brawl. So he’s becoming a risk to public safety, we’ll call it. And on May 7th, Ludger gets arrested. We actually don’t know what it is that he did wrong on that day. And we’ll get to why we don’t know later. But we know Ludger was up to something. And the authorities had had it and pretty much decide, We’re putting you in this cell for the night.
Dylan: What kind of jail are we talking about? Is it like, Old West kind of jail? What does it look like, this thing?
Baudelaire: So it’s a solitary cell in the side of a hill. Half of it is underground. So it’s made out of stone wall. It’s not too big. There’s no windows. And really the only opening is this slit under the door.
Dylan: I mean, this is, normally, this is like a truly horrible place to be. It’s like an awful solitary prison cell. It’s half underground. It’s basically almost like a cave. A horrible place to be.
Baudelaire: Yes. Except this one night where it was the best possible place to be.
Dylan: Okay. So we’re in the Paris of the Caribbean with this highly active volcano. Mount Pelée is only eight miles from the city. The snakes are fleeing. The spiders are fleeing. Ludger, maybe drunk, is in this half underground solitary confinement cell. I’m going to guess what’s about to happen.
Baudelaire: Yes. Go for it.
Dylan: I’m thinking that this giant volcano does in fact explode.
Baudelaire: Yes, it does. And when it does explode, black clouds cover the sky for 50 miles. So I want to point out that the mountain exploded in the early morning, about 7:52. So suddenly we’re back into complete darkness. Also, the volcano starts spewing a deadly combination of superheated gas, ash, and rock that races at 400 miles an hour from the volcano.
Dylan: Right. This is the thing. It’s not the lava that gets you. It’s this superheated wall of poisonous air, right? That’s this thing that starts—400 miles an hour. You’re not running away from that. This sounds very bad. You know, is anyone able to get to shelter? What is the survival rate of this disaster?
Baudelaire: Everybody dies.
Dylan: Like, everybody?
Baudelaire: Almost immediately, everyone’s gone.
Dylan: Like 30,000 people?
Baudelaire: The entire city, every building, everyone’s gone. Except one man does survive.
Dylan: Ludger, you lucky, lucky S.O.B. Oh, my God. How is it that he is able to survive this? What is the qualities of that cell that basically make him the sole survivor of this insane eruption?
Baudelaire: Well, his cell being half underground helped, as well as it being completely made out of stone, allowed it to keep it from the extreme temperatures to an extent, right? Like, it was hot in there, obviously. He’s on the verge of death. But even as the air is coming from under that slit in his door, he puts his clothes to cover the slit and has to pee on his clothes to keep the air.
Dylan: Oh, so he almost forms, like he turns it into a little bubble. He keeps the air that’s in there, in there. And all that rock absorbs this heat and whatever. And so this is able to basically pass over him.
Baudelaire: Absolutely.
Dylan: That’s nuts. But also I can’t help but notice he’s in prison. He can’t get out. Everybody’s dead and the city’s gone.
Baudelaire: Exactly. So imagine the surveyors when they’re like, you know, walking amongst all this devastation and they hear the moans and the cries of a man in what isn’t even in a noticeable cell, right? It’s covered in ash. And so they have to kind of move towards this and are like, are we hearing a human in there? And so they dig out and once they open the door to the cell, they see Ludger within inches of death.
Dylan: Yeah. He was basically put into a bomb shelter. Unknowingly, the police put him into a bomb shelter. And so he is the only survivor. So he does the impossible. He survives this insane volcanic eruption. What happens next? Is he put back in prison or like what happens after this incident?
Baudelaire: Well, after he makes a full recovery, he’s pardoned for all his crimes for two reasons. One: because authorities figure he suffered enough. Also, no one knows what he did because everyone who was there …
Dylan: Is dead.
Baudelaire: Is dead. The police station is gone.
Dylan: I love this part of this story because there’s like this mystery left. Like, had he just committed murder? We don’t know. We’ll never know. Did he ever say what he was in prison for? Well, so, after he makes a full recovery, he is recruited by P.T. Barnum from the infamous—or, from the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Dylan: Yeah, infamous, famous, both.
Baudelaire: Infamous, famous, yeah. So he goes on tour with Barnum & Bailey. And so his setup on the tour is basically him telling his story next to a makeshift cell. He never says what exactly he does, which kind of lends itself to the idea of like, did you do something so bad that you don’t want to say?
Dylan: Yeah, it’s interesting.
Baudelaire: And also at this time, Barnum & Bailey is, it’s segregated. So another aspect of the Ludger Sylbaris story is that he is seen as the first Black person to go on tour with Barnum and Bailey, like, nationally.
Dylan: Whoa, all it took was 30,000 people being killed in a volcanic eruption.
Baudelaire: No one else on the tour can even compare to him. The thing that he had to do to make it versus the tricycle guy is like, what do we, you know, but.
Dylan: Oh, man. Whoa. So then does he just like, I mean, obviously he probably makes some money doing this. Does he just go on to live the rest of his life?
Baudelaire: Yeah, as he probably deserves to at that point.
Yeah, for sure.
Baudelaire: You survived doomsday, man, go get it.
Dylan: What about the city? Does it still exist in any way? Is there currently a Saint-Pierre?
Baudelaire: There is, but it is much smaller than it was even in 1902. I believe it’s only a city of about, I want to say 4 to 8,000 now. So much smaller. Yeah, pretty small, especially compared to what it once was. And you could still go there and you can actually visit Ludger’s cell, it’s still there.
Right. Okay. Are you going to go visit?
Baudelaire: Well, you know, it’s funny. My mom was just telling me she wants to go to Martinique’s, so I’m sure we’re going to visit it sooner than later.
Dylan: You got to go check it out. Is the volcano still there?
Baudelaire: The volcano is very much still there and very much active.
Dylan: Oh, well then. All right. I wish you luck on your trip.
Baudelaire: But the next time the animals are coming down from the volcano, everyone’s probably going to get out of town.
Dylan: Baudelaire, if you see some snakes making their way towards the sea, get out of there.
Baudelaire: If I even see a bird flying in the direction of the town, I’m completely out of there.
This episode was produced by Baudelaire. Our podcast is a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. The people who make our show include Doug Baldinger, Chris Naka, Kameel Stanley, Johanna Mayer, Manolo Morales, Baudelaire, Amanda McGowan, Alexa Lim, Casey Holford, and Luz Fleming. Our theme music is by Sam Tyndall.
Chinese singer-actor Fan Shiqi (范世琦) has canceled his upcoming concert scheduled for October 18 in Chengdu, Sichuan. His studio announced the news today, citing health concerns as the main reason.
Studio Confirms Medical Reasons and Refund Process
According to the statement from his studio, Fan Shiqi’s medical team confirmed that his condition was not suitable for performance, prompting the concert cancellation along with a clear refund process for concertgoers. The 33-year-old singer also gave a statement through his studio to convey his deepest apologies and to thank everyone for their continued attention, support and love. Fan Shiqi previously took to social media to speak up about the emotional toll of cyberbullying saying, “The shadow of online violence can extend into real life and even change a person’s life. Please use your words wisely and don’t let the harm start from your fingertips.”, but the studio did not link those remarks to his concert cancellation.
Before the concert was cancelled, it was already plagued by claims that it had as few as “50 tickets sold” though online stats reportedly paint a different picture, indicating over 50,000 reservations.
Controversy Following Yu Menglong’s Death
Fan Shiqi’s career was dragged into speculation following the recent death of actor Yu Menglong, whom he had publicly mourned. He was accused of being among the attendees at a friend’s home the night before the actor’s death. His studio firmly denied any connection, even releasing his personal schedule for September 10-11 as evidence. Despite this, discussions about the controversy continued to circulate online.
In what’s seen as a distancing move due to some Netizens who are calling for a boycott of the actor, Fan Shiqi’s name is not included from new promotional materials for Zhao Lusi’s recently aired drama Love’s Ambition, where he plays a supporting character and was previously listed as a “specially invited star.” Reactions to the cancellation have been mixed. Fans expressed understanding and urged him to rest and recover, while others questioned whether the “health reason” was being used as a cover.
Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts, sharing experiences with international medical situations, and translation help! The hospital says CB can be discharged this weekend, yay! His facial paralysis has gotten a little worse in the past few days, though the doctors say this can happen. Right now we're trying to figure out how to get him home. Our travel insurance seemed like they might help, but now it sounds like nothing is covered, and the other private air ambulance service wants him to have a hospital bed ready back in California, but that is also proving difficult to get. From what the doctor said yesterday, he is probably okay to fly commercially but would need a medical escort, so we are figuring out how to get that arranged. Fingers crossed...
Content Notes: Drawn directly with a nibbed dip pen, no pencil. This is the Chameleon Moon Beam ink from Diamine.
Just a quicky as I don't have a lot of time today. No horns on this Viking's helmet, thank you. What I like best is that the seaserpent is twining affectionately around the ship like a cat getting underfoot when you're going to the fridge for a treat for it.
What's in the Bowl? Short fic, Short fanmix (4-5 songs), Set of 2 icons, or you can just say trick or treat and I'll surprise you with Halloween lore!
Let Me Know: Your gift will have some kind of Halloween theme unless you say otherwise :) Please specify if you'd rather have something spooky or something fluffy. Prompts are very much appreciated.
Fandoms and Characters I'll Make Gifts For: -Marvel Cinematic Universe (Sam/Bucky, Bucky/Natasha, Steve/Tony) -Doctor Odyssey (Tristan/Avery/Max) -Band of Brothers (Webster/Liebgott) -Generation Kill (Brad/Nate) -Watcher Entertainment RPF (Ryan/Shane, Andrew/Steven) -Roswell New Mexico (Rosa/Isobel, Liz/Max/Kyle) -Challengers (Patrick/Art/Tashi) -Masters of the Air (Curt/Bucky, Buck/Bucky, Curt/Buck/Bucky, Rosie/Harry) -Jujutsu Kaisen (any) -The Conjuring Universe (any) -The Raven Cycle (any) -Merlin (Merlin/Gwaine) -Any horror movie
I like making ship-specific things, but you can also just request a specific character from the above.
Other info: I don't want to write non-con or body horror, but all other spooky tropes are on the table if you'd like to request one. Happy Halloween :D
The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand. The fourth and most recent Cass Neary book, in which Cass meets up with old flame Quinn again and sets off on a wild goose chase in Sweden to steal a treasure / save a techbro (gender neutral) woman who suffers from similar trauma to Cass / save the world from the worst possible techbro idea of trauma therapy. Which of these is serving as Cass's motivation at any given time is very much up in the air.
This book takes Cass on an actual arc of sorts and leaves her someplace new, while still leaving her open to further adventures. I appreciate that Hand understands one of the essential elements of these books is Cass suffering through miserable, cold, wet weather. I also appreciate that despite a surfeit of Quinn in the middle, the finale of the book is all about Cass and Tindra the techbro. And despite Cass giving away(!!!) her camera in the last book, she does come into a new one here, also very important. There is less photography in this book than previous, and it is less central to the story, but we still get some here and there.
Overall, very much a Cass Neary story, and I like those, so.
--
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Journalist joins a guided group climbing Everest, is conveniently on hand to document the worst loss of life on the mountain up to that point.
I've been hearing about this book for years and years and was pretty sure I would love it; I just hadn't gotten around to it. Well, I finally got around to it, and indeed I loved it. I DMed someone within the first twenty pages and said, "I can already tell this is going to be deliciously horrible," and it was! Krakauer is a great writer, immensely readable, great at building tension.
Honestly, the actual deaths in this book are unsurprising. Mostly they're due to exposure, which seems a likely way to die on a mountain higher than the cruising altitude of jet airplanes. What I found really gripping was how miserable everything else was, especially the effects of being at such high altitudes. Not just the addled thinking from getting so little oxygen, although that's a nightmare in itself, but the fact that above a certain altitude, people basically stop eating because they can't get enough oxygen to digest the food, so it just makes them feel sick. And this while they are expending enormous amounts of calories! Climbing Everest just sounds like an absolute slog, which Krakauer hammers home continually. Weirdly enough, the closest reading experience I can think of is The Long Walk by Stephen King, which is also about putting your body through absolute hell and possible (/probable) death for no good reason.
There's an incredible horror-style stinger about 4/5 of the way through the book that I did not see coming at all, and it really brought home the nightmarish feeling of the whole thing. A++.
Combine that with the fact that there's no good way to get a body off Everest, and it's much too cold and low-oxygen for anything to decay, and you end up with situations like a sherpa who goes up the mountain every year and passes by the preserved frozen body of his friend who died on the side of the trail. (Death in the clouds: the problem with Everest's 200+ bodies.) Grim!
--
K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs. A world-famous climber and the first American to summit all fourteen mountains taller than 8k meters tells the stories of some of the most memorable expeditions to K2, as well as his own experience climbing it.
Yeah so after Into Thin Air, I've been on a whole mountaineering journey, lol. Generally I enjoyed this a lot. It lacks the propulsive narrative flow of the Krakauer book, not least because there's a half-dozen expeditions here, so less time to really sink into a single experience, but I enjoyed Viesturs's balance of meticulous sourcing of historical documents and his own perspective as an experienced climber. If you want an introduction to the history of climbing K2, you could do much worse. He's done another one on expeditions to Annapurna that I will get to at some point.
Incredible factoid from this book: the first attempted climb of K2 included ALEISTER CROWLEY. What the fuck. I feel like at some point I need to learn more about him, because he's adjacent to a number of my interests. Including this one, somehow!
--
Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2 by Jennifer Jordan.
After the two extremely dude-focused books above I thought I would like to read about some women. This seems to be one of the major works on high-altitude women climbers, but unfortunately I didn't get on with it at all. Jordan has an enormous bibliography in the back but doesn't cite sources for literally anything, which makes the whole thing feel untrustworthy (I am not in general a fan of narrative nonfiction) and also means it's mostly summary. Which is boring! Please lady, put in some direct quotes once in a while! Even in translation, since many of your subjects are Polish! The fact that Jordan does not seem to be a climber herself, or at least is unwilling to include that expertise in the narrative, also makes the book less engaging than the previous ones.
I DNFed this one. I'm now into Arlene Blum's book on how she led the first women's expedition to Annapurna. It's slow going because the library only has it on audiobook, but I'm enjoying it so far. Lots of interesting stuff on leadership within the group, group dynamics, lack of institution support for the trip, the logistics of managing the porters to get all their stuff to the mountain.
•9-1-1 Lone Star Series Finale: Finally, a lovely happy ending! This last season was not my favorite, but I liked how they tied everything together at the end. Except for Grace & Judd, I was sad we didn't at least get to see her again.
•Doctor Odyssey Finale: Boo! How could they break up my OT3 like that! After all of the really fun and really progressive relationship explorations this season, I thought they did Tristan dirty at the end :( But at least they ended with the three of them on the pool deck together.
•Surreal Estate 2.02: Hilarious and fun and spooky too. The season 2 premiere didn't grab me but this episode had a bunch of heart and I'm re-invested :D
Next 3 TV shows I want to (re)watch:
•Surreal Estate Season 2 •Umbrella Academy final season •A rewatch for a fic exchange
Last 3 albums I listened to:
• Greetings from Your Hometown by Jonas Brothers ♥ Many new bangers that I love. Backwards is my current favorite.
• Man's Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter. The sarcasm about men being shit but still expecting the sexiest girls - such scathing and deserved commentary. Especially the track Tears!. No one is really doing it like her. Although I think I like the previous album better.
• Gold Star Baby by The Aces. A disco album! A lot of the lyrics make me laugh, too. Favorite track is Spending the Night.
Next 3 albums I want to listen to:
• Demi Lovato's new album It's Not That Deep comes out October 24! • 5 Seconds of Summer's new album Everyone's a Star! comes out November 14! • Conan Gray?? I loved his performance of Vodka Cranberry so I should listen to his other stuff.
Most of the Draconids we saw tonight were short flashes like Morse in the mind of the dragon, but even through the faint haze and the half-sky shine of the harvest moon just past, we saw two true long-tailed fireballs like dragon-stars, streaking through Lyra and Boötes. Their radiant stands in Eltanin and Rastaban, the dragon's eyes. Meteors, too, feel like a gift for an erev birthday. I still dream one will earth itself in a field while I am watching.
August 26 to October 8 for five seasons of TV isn't as fast as I've done some shows, and it's still nice to log how long these things can take. It's been an excellent run of TV and I'm still happy I watched it when I did.
Now, to find a time to tackle the DVD special features.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
atlasobscura_feed
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
