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**DISCLAIMER** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer.
DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. Thank you.**

This post covers the weekend.

---    ---    ---    ---    ---    ---

FRIDAY

Normal morning, though I felt crappy so after breakfast I walked back to Walgreens for more tissues, some Flonase (it really helps keep one's nasal passages open at night,) and some DayQuil. Back at the hotel my Throat Coat tea and throat spray had showed up too. These are preventatives and won't help me much now, but I hope they'll be useful as this tour continues through dry and cold weather.

After lunch I Ubered over to the antique mall (it's way too far to walk; I'd seen another cast member post about it.) It was HUGE and there was so much to look at!

Uranium glass!

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Absolute loads of Disney memorabilia. There was just about everything you could think of, but I've never seen Disney comic books before and enjoyed perusing those. There seemed to be sets for every character. Even Scrooge McDuck had his own comic at one point!
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Vintage cookbooks!
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I loved how these green glass jars looked. There were matching salt and pepper shakers and sugar/cream containers too.
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These apple plates got my attention for some reason. I think they remind me of an illustration from 1950s The Little Engine that Could.
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The only trombone-related thing that I found :p
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In one booth I discovered a lot of records that surprisingly matched Jameson's tastes, so I sent him a few pictures. When he reacted in an excited way, I decided to buy several of them for him :) There were a lot of international Queen vinyls, like a 1985 Tokyo pressing in limited edition red, or a 2-LP live 1979 broadcast "for Kampuchea," which I'm guessing was a fundraiser concert. There were some 45s too at only $5-6 so I got those for him as well. Grand total of $150-something, but it's not like one comes across these things every day, or thinks to scrounge eBay specifically for them.

Ubered back and got carsick in the Uber, so had a ginger candy and laid down when I got back. My guts were acting up a bit in general, but I think it's because I got liquid DayQuil which I forgot has SORBITOL, ugh. Guess that was a waste of money.

The evening show was well-attended. At 6:30 there were two lines wrapping in opposite directions.

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Josh (Key 2) conducted and did a good job. I struggled with postnasal drip but did my best.
Two more tomorrow!

---------------------------------------------------------------

SATURDAY


I was up early to do laundry. Breakfast and the usual blah blah of working on Foodie Finds and gathering things to put back in my trunk. I was done with it all by 10am or so, and decided to lie down. I didn't sleep, but it was quiet and warm and I felt very peaceful and could breathe through my nose, so it was good and sort of meditative.

The first show went well, though I had a small anxiety attack partway through the first act. This often happens if I fixate on physical sensations as though they indicate something wrong, which triggers my fight or flight. It's not surprising for it to happen while I'm sick. Swallowing mucus all day which makes me mildly nauseous, drinking extra liquids which makes me have to pee at difficult times, feeling like I can't breathe because my nose closes up at random...lots of these things can be a trigger. At least I know what it is and can ignore it, though it feels unpleasant and upsetting.

After the show we were given a free dinner, just burgers or grilled chicken for sandwiches with potato salad, chips, and cheese curds on the side (this is Wisconsin after all!) Free food is always appreciated. I took mine back to my room and chilled there until the next show.

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Here are the groceries that I picked up at the Woodman's Food Market, and reviews for them:
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  • Local Pickled Asparagus: 5/10 These were just ok. Basic, nothing to write home about.
  • Golden Beets: 5/10 Again, basic. They were mushier than the same brand of red beets, so I'll probably just stick to the red.
  • NuGo Bar, Churro: 8/10 I eat NuGo bars regularly and already like them, this is just a flavor I hadn't seen before. It was very good, cinnamony and sweet. Would eat again.
  • Door County Brownie Batter Canned Coffee: 8/10 I'm not actually trying this until Monday but have had their flavored coffee before and it's very good. They have a lot of different flavors so if you see 'em, try 'em!
  • Elote Mexican Street Corn Almonds: 10/10 I had low expectations and ended up blown away by how good these were. The salt that they use contains actual corn powder and probably some butter flavor. Combined with the nutty crunchy almonds, these are VERY good. Addictive!!
  • Simply Snackin' Jerky: 1,000/10 I first had these a few years ago and now I look for them every time I'm in Wisconsin. This is probably the best jerky I've ever had overall. They have something like 8-12 flavors, and the texture and ingredients and macros are just so perfect. You can probably order them online. Highly recommend this brand to anyone who's into jerky, they're just EXCELLENT.
  • Dandies Vegan Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows: 9/10 If you try these, know that vegan marshmallows have a very different texture than gelatin-based marshmallows. These were so good! The flavor was very strong and delicious, I LOVE putting some in my coffee in the morning! Only complaint is that I don't think they need to be quite that sweet. Otherwise these are good enough that I'd definitely like to buy them again.
The evening show was just fine, though our MD said the matinee performance had been better. I'll take credit for some of that because around 7pm each night is when my postnasal drip faucet turns itself on, and the 2nd act was a huge struggle for me not to cough in the middle of playing. I even had to suck on a Ricola between numbers.

Possible TMI, highlight text to read: ( I'm trying to downplay this whatever-it-is illness, but it sure does suck. During the day the postnasal drip recedes a bit and I can breathe through my nose, generally I can even go about my day normally with minimal medication. But my sinuses and throat feel sore and bruised and I keep losing my voice at random times. Every night I wake up at 3am to spend 30 minutes coughing up green chunks and blowing yellow goo out of my nose until it bleeds, then force myself to swallow some water even though swallowing feels like eating nails. It probably feels extra because although it's a normal sinus/throat infection, I'm playing the trombone very hard every single day while it's happening, and I can't even begin to describe to you how much that exacerbates pain in the face/sinus cavities and the throat muscles.)

Yes, I was given antibiotics, but it hadn't even been a week when I got them so I am trying to wait until the 10-day mark to see if my body can handle this itself. It will take longer and be more awful that way, but we as a society are quickly reaching antimicrobial resistance exactly because we have overused antibiotics for smaller inconvenient things like this. If it's possible to preserve antibiotic effectiveness for myself, for something more serious than this, I'd like to try. If it's possible. If I hit the 10-day mark and things aren't improving, I'll DEFINITELY do the course.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

SUNDAY


Up a bit early because our show is at 1pm and I wanted the morning to pack. Things are taking longer each morning because of the time I have to spend coughing and blowing my nose and all that. ANNOYING.

Watched Oliver and Company...idk about you guys, but when I'm sick I like to watch movies from my childhood to soothe myself. And perhaps eat a little extra candy too :p

The afternoon show was nice. For the first time since we got here the sun was out and it was around 50°F (10°C) instead of 40, and I was a bit sad to be indoors. Nothing of note happened except that Sarah's (French horn) parents came to the show, and came down to the pit to say hi afterward. They seem really sweet, and were obviously proud of their daughter :) 

During the break I chilled out at the hotel and watched some new Hazbin Hotel teaser trailers...Season 2 will be released on Amazon in 3 days!! They're only releasing two eps at a time though so I'd better cool my tits about it. 

The evening show was lovely, we had an enthusiastic audience to see us off. The wall tag here is unique in that it's a whiteboard and each show is given a little block of space to design-or-sign, then eventually when it's full the whole board is covered under a big piece of plexi. Things are written in Sharpies so they don't wipe off easily like with whiteboard markers, but we were advised to use darker colors because the lighter ones do tend to fade over time with this method. 

Whatever, here's our tag for Appleton! 
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After the show I packed up quickly and power-walked to the hotel, reserved an Uber for tomorrow, packed a bit, typed this up, got into pajamas, and went the heck to bed. Jameson's dad is visiting him right now and they were out at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. As I type this they're at Voodoo doughnuts getting treats :)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday:
Flying to Kansas City. We've just found out that there's a Chiefs game AND a conference going on downtown on Monday so it's gonna be chaos. I'm glad I booked an earlier flight assuming everything happens on time.

Tuesday: Opening night in Kansas City. If my Illness Of Doom isn't showing signs of retreat by then I'll start antibiotics.

Wow! That's a lot of words!

Oct. 26th, 2025 10:04 pm
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[personal profile] brithistorian

I stumbled on a list of word counts of famous novels and discovered that my longest piece of fanfic is approximately 16,000 words longer than Moby Dick!

[syndicated profile] snopes_feed

Posted by Jordan Liles

For example, 1990 Texas gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams once likened rape to bad weather, saying, "If it's inevitable, relax and enjoy it."

Zerostrasse in Pula, Croatia

Oct. 26th, 2025 05:00 pm
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These cool, echoing corridors once served as a wartime refuge.

Beneath the historic streets of Pula lies Zerostrasse, a network of tunnels that were built during World War I to shelter the city’s residents from air raids. These cool, echoing corridors once served as a wartime refuge, and today they invite visitors to explore a hidden world below the Roman amphitheater. Not just a passage through history, Zerostrasse also connects to Pula Castle—visitors can take an elevator from the tunnels straight up to the hilltop fortress, where stunning panoramic views of the city await.

 

 

[syndicated profile] atlas_obscura_places_feed

From 1968 to 2001, Fred Rogers filmed 912 episodes of his children’s television show, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” in Pittsburgh, becoming one of the most beloved figures in American life. 

His legacy is honored with an exaggerated sculpture of a tyrannosaurus rex, dressed in the quintessential Mister Rogers outfit: a cardigan and sneakers. The creature’s stubby arms hold replicas of King Friday and Henrietta Pussycat, two puppets from the show, and a red trolley runs along its back.

Done Since 2025-10-19

Oct. 26th, 2025 08:55 pm
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[personal profile] mdlbear

A better week than I was expecting? N, G, and m are at OVFF, and I'm left here with the cats (modulo the housekeeper on Saturday mornings, and j on the weekends), but it's been magageable, and not too lonely. (I'm usually somewhat isolated down here on the ground floor anyway.) The main extra work was the two extra litter boxen, and feeding Brooklyn (who I swear is part hobbit -- four meals a day). (Cricket eats only kibble, so it's just a matter of making sure her bin stays filled.)

Also, I've taken six walks (though none longer than .7km), ordered some of my favorite groceries (including fish-other-than-salmon and bread-other-than-plain), and gotten a fair amount of work done on the HyperSpace Express website. In particular, the Books page, from which you can find out where to get N's book, The World As It Ought to Be, and subscribe to her newsletter.

And I have somehow managed to log a two-year streak in Duolingo. For what that's worth. Lately that hasn't been much.

I have gotten somewhat less done yesterday and today, because OVFF over Zoom.

Those of us with hidden disabilities may be interested in the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Official website Disabilities index, search (The list is extensive.)

For those of us who couldn't get to OVFF, here are the 2025 Pegasus Award winners:

Best Villain Song: "The Evil Eyeball," Sibylle Machat
Best Hero Song: "The Ones Who Walked Away," Beth Kinderman
Best Performer: The Blibbering Humdingers
Best Writer/Composer: Eric Distad
Best Classic Filk Song: "Merry Meet," Steve Macdonald
Best Filk Song: "One Small Boat," Marilisa Valtazanou

Notes & links, as usual )

RIP NaNo

Oct. 26th, 2025 03:35 pm
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[personal profile] brickhousewench
I realized last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, that it was almost November. And even though I follow them on Facebook and follow the blog on Dreamwith, I hadn’t seen anything about NaNoWriMo yet. How could I have forgotten about NaNo? Why hadn’t I gotten any reminders? So I rolled over and checked my phone to see if I’d unfollowed the NaNo page, but I hadn’t. The page was still there on Facebook, but there were zero posts, no banner, and only one photo (for the profile picture). I found a couple of blog posts from back in April that said NaNo was shutting down, but the fact that they’d let their domain name lapse told me everything I really needed to know. Besides, I already knew there was controversy about forum moderation (and potential predators using them) and last year there was a HUGE blowup about their sponsorship by an AI company and the fact that using AI to “write” your novel was going to be allowed.

https://storyempire.com/2025/04/28/nanowrimo-closing-what-went-wrong-what-will-replace/

https://lithub.com/nanowrimo-is-shutting-down/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month

While I’m a little disappointed, I don’t think I’m going to let the failure of the official organization keep me from working on my novel this November. I need a social media detox, and November seems like a good time to try to stop myself spending so much time doomscrolling on Facebook. Using that time to work on writing will be a good thing.
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Pathways inside the oasis

This historic oasis has existed for over 4,000 years and has been a working farm for almost as long. Al Ain Oasis is a shining example of why the city of Al Ain, located just 90 minutes from Abu Dhabi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Al Ain is an ancient oasis city in the middle of the desert - evidence of human habitation has been found dating back over 4000 years, making Al Ain of the world's oldest continuously inhabited places. 

Crisscrossing the oasis are a system of falaj, or underground irrigation canals. These channels can be seen above the ground, looking almost like concrete gutters. Many of these were built centuries ago, but are still operational today. Evidence suggests that some of the falaj existed as early as 1000 BC, making them some of the world's oldest irrigation systems. Keep your eyes peeled for sections of the falaj where you can climb down a set of stairs to dip your toes in the water below. 

Today, the site is both a tourist attraction and is home to over 500 privately-owned working farms. The oasis is lush with over 100 types of vegetation, and almost 150,000 date palms of 120 different varieties. A visit to the Al Ain Oasis is a tranquil respite and a true step into the past.

 

 

The Gomm House in Curitiba, Brazil

Oct. 26th, 2025 02:00 pm
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The Gomm estate originally included a vast stretch of woodland, of which only a small section still exists.

Few old constructions remain standing when they find themselves in the way of so-called progress. It’s a story all too common in urban areas: out with decades-old houses full of character and history, in with soulless structures of steel and glass. The Gomm House is a rare exception to this rule—sort of.

The Gomm House was built in Curitiba’s wealthy neighborhood of Batel for Henry Gomm, a British businessman who traded yerba mate in the state of Paraná. Finished in 1913, it stood out for its size and its architectural style, which curiously mimicked not the houses in Gomm’s native England, but those in New England. The estate was almost five acres in area, including a vast stretch of woodland.

In the 1920s, Henry was made honorary consul of England in Paraná. His wife, Isabel Withers Gomm, was prominent in her own way, being credited with having brought the Red Cross to Curitiba. The couple had an active social life, entertaining local figures and hosting international ones.

One of their sons, Harry Blas Gomm, followed in his father’s footsteps and served as a British vice-consul, between 1940 and 1955. Harry’s wife, Luísa Bueno Gomm, was a pioneer in her own right—among other accomplishments, she was the first woman in Paraná to get a pilot’s license. Reportedly, while Harry and Luísa were at the helm, the Gomm House became even more of a hub for the local elite.

Things started to change around 1958, after Harry and Luísa moved out. No longer housing any of the family members, the building was put up for lease. Along the decades, it went on to have many incarnations, among them as a medical center and as the first home of Casacor, a now-annual design and architecture event. 

In the late 1980s, the Gomm heirs sold the property to a development group. Worrying that the house might be torn down, preservationists worked to save it. The mayor at the time declared the estate an area of public interest and expressed the intention to turn it into an urban park. In 1989, the house and its surroundings were given protection status under the law and included in the state’s Register of Historic Places.

The park idea didn’t get much traction, though, and the conservation tactics didn’t dissuade the developers from building in the property that they owned. Initially, they intended to set up either a private club or a hotel. When those plans didn’t pan out, they decided on a luxury mall. Since the law prohibited them from demolishing the house, they sought permission to move it. The authorization came in 1999, and soon after the delicate relocation process started. The Gomm House was disassembled, had some damaged parts restored, and was rebuilt in its current address, in the back of the lot.

After it reopened in 2004, now in the hands of the state government, the house served for a few years as a campus for the state’s Music and Fine Arts College. In 2013 (the same year the mall opened), it became the home of the agency known as Coordenação do Patrimônio Cultural, which oversees cultural heritage and historical patrimony in Paraná—a somewhat ironic outcome.

With the trials and tribulations that it’s been through, the Gomm estate came to be a dual symbol. On one hand, it’s an embodiment of the value of conservation efforts; at the same time, it’s a testament to how the wants and needs of private economic interest are often favored and accommodated for by the powers that be.

Though the house still stands, the green area around it got much smaller over the decades. Also in 2013, a grassroots movement formed and eventually prevented the developers from opening an access road that would benefit the mall and cut down even more trees.

The remaining woods are now part of a small park run by the city government. Murals tell visitors about the Gomm family and British immigration in Paraná. The park also pays tribute to British culture, with items like a red phone booth, murals about notable British figures, and a garden themed after Beatrix Potter.

Nominations Open

Oct. 26th, 2025 04:34 pm
purpleyin: Black background with three hands holding together (two hands are light skinned and one hand is brown) (holly poly)
[personal profile] purpleyin posting in [community profile] holly_poly
Nominations are open, and they'll stay open through 11:00am UTC on 8 November - you can see a countdown timer at this link. You're allowed to nominate up to 10 fandoms, with up to 10 relationships per fandom. This year we have imported a subset of the tagsets from Holly Poly 2023 and 2024 via our pre-nominations phase to try and reduce the workload for us mods - please make sure to check the tagset before you nominate a ship to see if it is already included in the tagset. We recommend expanding all tagset categories before searching the page for any ships since some fandoms may not be in the section you expect due to us using slightly different fandom tags in some cases.

The tag set is located here: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541

You can also view this year's tagset on AO3 Automagic app at the link below to more easily search for ships included in it already, but it needs a re-scrape requested periodically to ensure it's up to date: https://autoao3app.firebaseapp.com/#/holly_poly_2025/tagset

In order to nominate a relationship, simply click the Nominate button located in the top right-hand corner of the tag set. If you do not have an account on the AO3, please let us know, and we should be able to get you an invite. On a similar note, if you have any questions, or if you're nominating something that you think might be confusing, please either post a comment to this post or send an e-mail to holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com if you'd rather keep it private.

For relationships that do not already have canonical tags, please nominate them in alphabetical order by last name (and, if they don't have a last name or multiple characters share a last name, then by first name). For example: Anders/Fenris/Bethany Hawke/Carver Hawke/Isabela/Merrill/Varric Tethras/Aveline Vallen, or Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, or Sirius Black/Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks.

Please don't panic if we add some type of disambiguation to relationships that you nominate. Especially for ones where the same characters fall under different fandoms (various comic fandoms, movie/TV show vs. book fandoms, etc.), as doing so helps keeps tags from wandering to fandoms where they don't belong.

This is an exchange for romantic and/or sexual relationships, not friendships, so make certain to nominate relationships that use a "/" rather than a "&". If you want to request that a relationship be asexual/queerplatonic/etc., then that's something to include in your optional details when signing up.

Please make sure to read through the extra information below as some fandom disambiguations have changed from previous years. In general, when nominating a fandom or ship consider whether there are multiple sources/versions of either the canon or any of the characters and how to nominate in a way that makes it clearest which version you want. Please also keep an eye on the community during both the nominations period and the nominations clean-up period in case we post any clarifying questions about your nominations.





Information about how to nominate relationships for many of the larger or more complicated fandoms under the cut. )




Please note that while [Specific Character]/[Specific Group of Characters] is acceptable as a nomination, [Specific Character]/Everyone is too broad.

For example: Lex Luthor/Lionel Luthor's Board Members is acceptable because "Lionel Luthor's Board Members" involves a finite group of people. The same goes for Voldemort/Death Eaters, Shipwrecked Sailor/Mermaids, and Peter Pan/Lost Boys. While Carol Danvers/Anyone and Everyone or Jack Harkness/Everyone He's Ever Met are understandable, they're too broad because it could essentially involve an infinite number of people.

If you have any questions about a relationship you want to nominate that might potentially be too broad, leave a comment or send an e-mail.




RPF characters must be 18+ at the time of nomination. Significant others/children/etc. of public figures are not permitted unless they are public figures in their own right. For smaller RPF fandoms, providing information/links to help us verify the characters are eligible would be appreciated and will speed up RPF noms.




If you have any questions about what fandom to use when making nominations, or any other questions in general - or if you find any errors in the tagset - please feel free to leave a comment on this post. You can also send an e-mail to holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com.



Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits

Some Big News With the Scalzi Family

Oct. 26th, 2025 05:18 pm
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Posted by John Scalzi

Athena has been looking for a place of her own for a while, and she wanted something here in Bradford, to be close to work and to us, both of which we were pleased about. We’d all been tracking properties here in town when they went up for sale, and even looked at one or two to see if they were a place Athena could see herself living in. Nothing quite gelled.

Then this Craftsman-style house came up on the market. We got a chance to go look at it and we all came away from it thinking, basically, wow, this is it. Lots of room, in great shape, amazing character, and, for Athena, walkably close to work. It’s kind of a dream house for what she needs and wants.

As a family we put in an offer and it was accepted, and pending inspections (which we expect will not offer any particular surprises) we close in a couple of weeks. I’m really happy for Athena, and also, happy for us. And while I’m at it, just a tiny bit wistful, as our kid is truly is, officially, moving out and on her own, and that’s a big moment for any parent.

Only a tiny bit wistful, though, since I plan to make her current bedroom my new music studio. That beats having to walk down two flights of stairs and into a cold basement to get to my current set-up. I’m pretty sure Athena will see this as a fair trade.

— JS

Bottle Alley in Hastings, England

Oct. 26th, 2025 01:00 pm
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The Chasing lights at Bottle Alley

Bottle Alley is a concrete covered seaside promenade in Hastings, on the south coast of England. The alley is open on one side to the beach, to provide cover from the rain for holidaymakers. It was built in 1930-32 by the borough engineer Sidney Little, who was known as the Concrete King.  

The walls are decorated in a mosaic of broken glass. There are millions of pieces of  broken bottle pieces in different colours, the whole height and length of the 480-metre long  “alley.” The walkway is dead straight, stretches as far as the eye can see, and is a weird experience to walk along.

As if this were not enough, there is multi-coloured lighting all the way along inset into a strip of the ceiling which springs to life in a spectacular five-minute show every evening at 7.30 and 9.30pm, with a special 30 minute show on Fridays.  

The lights run along the alley at high speed in a wave effect and flash in a way that is reminiscent of the closing scene of the Kubrick film 2001 or the opening titles of “Dr Who.” 

Waldo Park in Salem, Oregon

Oct. 26th, 2025 12:00 pm
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The park is centered around a giant sequoia tree planted in 1872.

Waldo Park, located in downtown Salem, Oregon, is notable as one of the world's smallest city parks. Measuring just 12 by 20 feet, this compact municipal park is centered around a giant sequoia tree planted in 1872 by Judge William Waldo. The park was established in 1936 to ensure the preservation of this significant tree, which now stands over 80 feet tall and is designated as an Oregon Heritage Tree. Waldo Park's striking sequoia and lush landscaping offer a peaceful retreat amidst the urban environment, making it a beloved local landmark.

SquidgeWorld Updates

Oct. 26th, 2025 03:55 pm
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[personal profile] squidgestatus
If you're part of SquidgeWorld Archive, you may notice that the site will be down briefly throughout the day - today, October 26th, 2025.  This is because we are going to be adding a few things here and there to add links to Squidge.org's fandom offerings in the Community links/page, as well as additional clarification information for commenting.  The Community links additions will link to some of our pages on Dreamwidth where you can get additional information about Squidge and learn about challenges that are currently happening, and the additional information for posting comments is around discouraging commission spammers from posting.

As always, if you've got questions, don't hesitate to contact us!

Vluchtoord in Uden, Netherlands

Oct. 26th, 2025 11:00 am
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Memorial to the refugees and the war

During the First World War there were lots of Belgian refugees in the Netherlands. In the town of Uden, a refuge called Vluchtoord was created. (“Vluchtoord” loosely translates as “refuge.”) A complete village of temporary housing, schools, a church,  and a hospital was built in a matter of weeks. In total about 10,000 Belgian refugees lived here.

They also took with them their hobbies and made a cycling track, the remnants of which are  still visible in the woods. You can easily walk the total length of the track. and the nearby woods have nice walks. 

On the site there are several informational signs with highlight the history of the site and the refuge. Fun fact: The refuge was the first in the region to have electric power. Which annoyed the residents of Uden, who had to wait a few more years before they got electrical power. 

At the end of the war, the refugees returned and in a few weeks the site was emptied out. No original buildings (except the generator building) were left standing. The generator building is now in use as a theater. And the name Vluchtoord lives on as the name of an industrial zone nearby. 

[syndicated profile] atlas_obscura_places_feed

“Study the past if you would divine the future.” These words of Confucius clearly resonate with Roderick Wilde, the owner of the world’s largest collection of antique electric vehicles. Dreaming of creating a museum devoted entirely to EVs, Wilde first displayed part of his collection at the 2014 Route 66 International Festival in Kingman, Arizona. The exhibit was so successful that it became a permanent museum inside Kingman’s historic Powerhouse.

Electric vehicles aren’t a 21st-century innovation, they date back to the 19th century. For a brief time in the early 1900s, they even competed with gasoline cars, before cheap fuel and limited battery technology rendered them impractical. For much of the 20th century, electric power was relegated to small vehicles like golf carts, mobility scooters, and “neighborhood electric vehicles.”

The museum’s collection includes those everyday models alongside celebrity-owned golf carts (including ones belonging to Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson), a 2008 Tesla Roadster, and a record-breaking electric race car.

Though the Powerhouse space currently displays only part of Wilde’s collection, the museum plans to expand into a larger downtown location in the future.

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