littleredbookoftravels

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Hope springs eternal” - Alexander Pope || #花 #kyoto #Arashiyama #wanderer #wander #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #team_jp_ #travelogue (at Arashiyama, Kyoto) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAPgQimAwFK/?igshid=17r90p217ozm4

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you” - David McCullough || #maehongson #maehongsonloop #thailandtravel #thailand #letsgothailand #explorethailand #whitegram #wander #wanderer #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #skyscannersg (at Mae Hong Son) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAIjXo5Jl0Z/?igshid=mu9lov28ll76

[littleredbookoftravels]

Are fedoras really that bad?

YES YES THEY ARE

[littleredbookoftravels]

Please make a post about the story of the RMS Carpathia, because it's something that's almost beyond belief and more people should know about it.

Carpathia received Titanic’s distress signal at 12:20am, April 15th, 1912. She was 58 miles away, a distance that absolutely could not be covered in less than four hours.

(Californian’s exact position at the time is…controversial. She was close enough to have helped. By all accounts she was close enough to see Titanic’s distress rockets. It’s uncertain to this day why her crew did not respond, or how many might not have been lost if she had been there. This is not the place for what-ifs. This is about what was done.)

Carpathia’s Captain Rostron had, yes, rolled out of bed instantly when woken by his radio operator, ordered his ship to Titanic’s aid and confirmed the signal before he was fully dressed. The man had never in his life responded to an emergency call. His goal tonight was to make sure nobody who heard that fact would ever believe it.

All of Carpathia’s lifeboats were swung out ready for deployment. Oil was set up to be poured off the side of the ship in case the sea turned choppy; oil would coat and calm the water near Carpathia if that happened, making it safer for lifeboats to draw up alongside her. He ordered lights to be rigged along the side of the ship so survivors could see it better, and had nets and ladders rigged along her sides ready to be dropped when they arrived, in order to let as many survivors as possible climb aboard at once.

I don’t know if his making provisions for there still being survivors in the water was optimism or not. I think he knew they were never going to get there in time for that. I think he did it anyway because, god, you have to hope.

Carpathia had three dining rooms, which were immediately converted into triage and first aid stations. Each had a doctor assigned to it. Hot soup, coffee, and tea were prepared in bulk in each dining room, and blankets and warm clothes were collected to be ready to hand out. By this time, many of the passengers were awake–prepping a ship for disaster relief isn’t quiet–and all of them stepped up to help, many donating their own clothes and blankets.

And then he did something I tend to refer to as diverting all power from life support.

Here’s the thing about steamships: They run on steam. Shocking, I know; but that steam powers everything on the ship, and right now, Carpathia needed power. So Rostron turned off hot water and central heating, which bled valuable steam power, to everywhere but the dining rooms–which, of course, were being used to make hot drinks and receive survivors. He woke up all the engineers, all the stokers and firemen, diverted all that steam back into the engines, and asked his ship to go as fast as she possibly could. And when she’d done that, he asked her to go faster.

I need you to understand that you simply can’t push a ship very far past its top speed. Pushing that much sheer tonnage through the water becomes harder with each extra knot past the speed it was designed for. Pushing a ship past its rated speed is not only reckless–it’s difficult to maneuver–but it puts an incredible amount of strain on the engines. Ships are not designed to exceed their top speed by even one knot. They can’t do it. It can’t be done.

Carpathia’s absolute do-or-die, the-engines-can’t-take-this-forever top speed was fourteen knots. Dodging icebergs, in the dark and the cold, surrounded by mist, she sustained a speed of almost seventeen and a half.

No one would have asked this of them. It wasn’t expected. They were almost sixty miles away, with icebergs in their path. They had a respondibility to respond; they did not have a responsibility to do the impossible and do it well. No one would have faulted them for taking more time to confirm the severity of the issue. No one would have blamed them for a slow and cautious approach. No one but themselves.

They damn near broke the laws of physics, galloping north headlong into the dark in the desperate hope that if they could shave an hour, half an hour, five minutes off their arrival time, maybe for one more person those five minutes would make the difference. I say: three people had died by the time they were lifted from the lifeboats. For all we know, in another hour it might have been more. I say they made all the difference in the world.

This ship and her crew received a message from a location they could not hope to reach in under four hours. Just barely over three hours later, they arrived at Titanic’s last known coordinates. Half an hour after that, at 4am, they would finally find the first of the lifeboats. it would take until 8:30 in the morning for the last survivor to be brought onboard. Passengers from Carpathia universally gave up their berths, staterooms, and clothing to the survivors, assisting the crew at every turn and sitting with the sobbing rescuees to offer whatever comfort they could.

In total, 705 people of Titanic’s original 2208 were brought onto Carpathia alive. No other ship would find survivors.

At 12:20am April 15th, 1912, there was a miracle on the North Atlantic. And it happened because a group of humans, some of them strangers, many of them only passengers on a small and unimpressive steam liner, looked at each other and decided: I cannot live with myself if I do anything less.

I think the least we can do is remember them for it.

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien || #Japan #JAL #Japanairlines #letsgojapan #explorejapan #explorejp #wander #wanderer #whitagram #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #teamjp #team_jp_

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien || #Japan #Kyoto #Nagoya #Tokyo #JAL #Japanairlines #letsgojapan #explorejapan #explorejp #wander #wanderer #whitagram #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #teamjp #team_jp_

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien || #Japan #Kyoto #Nagoya #Tokyo #JAL #Japanairlines #letsgojapan #explorejapan #explorejp #wander #wanderer #whitagram #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #teamjp #team_jp_

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien || #Japan #kyoto #nagoya #tokyo #Japanairlines #letsgojapan #explorejapan #explorejp #wander #wanderer #whitagram #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #teamjp #team_jp_

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien || #Japan #Kyoto #Nagoya #Tokyo #JAL #Japanairlines #letsgojapan #explorejapan #explorejp #wander #wanderer #whitagram #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #teamjp #team_jp_

[littleredbookoftravels]

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien || #Japan2k17 #Japan #Kyoto #Nagoya #Tokyo #JAL #Japanairlines #letsgojapan #explorejapan #explorejp #wander #wanderer #whitagram #wanderlust #explore #travel #traveling #instatravel #adventure #sgbased #sgtravels #sginsta #dream #discover #vsco #vscocam #sgvsco #whitagram #travelog #sakura #cherryblossom #skyscannersg #teamjp #team_jp_

[littleredbookoftravels]

[WP] You are just a background character in a Musical

“What do you know?! You’re just a background character!” She spewed those words with so much hate that I was legitimately terrified before kicking me in the shin.

“What would a background character know of standing on stage as a main?! YOU WOULDN’T BECAUSE YOU AREN’T! I am surprised you’re still even here” She snarled before breaking into a grin which prompted her bunch of cronies to agree with her.

I was on the verge of tears, being worked to the bone. Musical was all I ever wanted to do and all that I’ve ever known of. I have risen through the ranks from being in support to now having the chance of being a main character but this bitch came out of nowhere and stole the spotlight from me. Something about being from NYU Tisch or something. Bet the school also teaches her to suck dicks for roles.

“Go crawl back into your hole you bitch, where talent-less people like you belong” and with that she left. Sadness then rage took control. I steadied myself lest I collapse onto the floor, giving that bitch another reason to laugh at me. Oh how I wanted to kill her, but hey I don’t want to go to jail.

“RACHELLE! Get over here!” the manager yelled. I wiped the tears from my eyes and dutifully ran towards him. “Rach, go on and prep the props for the show tonight” he instructed without even looking at me. “dipshit” I muttered, before running off to the props department.

I carried the props half cursing, half trying to see my way in the dark when one of the rifle for the show fell. “Fucking heavy things, if I’ve wanted to carry a rifle I would have joined the Marines” I cursed under my breath. That’s when I saw it, that bitch, Marianne and her on screen/off screen beau, Jordan having what was to be the most heated fight I’ve ever seen.

“Screw you! I’d rather die than be with you” She screamed.

“Yeah?! I’ll make sure I’ll be the one doing the killing then! Fucking bitch” He yelled as he stormed out of the dresser.

Both drama mamas, fought so loud, the whole theater came to a standstill for a minute before everyone started buzzing around doing their work again.

“Damn Jordan’s gonna be in deep shit for that threat” I thought before hurrying my way backstage to the props room.

“Alright everyone! Showtime is in 5, get into your positions!” The manager yelled.

“Jordan, here is your prop” I smiled as I passed it to him.  

“Thanks Rach” He repiled.

“Break a leg” I told him, before running off to my position.

40 minutes in and its time for the big scene where Jordan’s character would make the mistake of shooting his lover which is of course that bitch Marianne.

“HE IS A TRAITOR!” Jordan screamed.

“HE IS MY BROTHER AND I WILL PROTECT HIM WITH MY LIFE, IF IT MUST BE THEN KILL ME MY LORD!” Marianne cried.

“THEN I WILL! MY PEOPLE WILL NOT STAND FOR SUCH TREACHERY!” and with tears in his eyes, he pulled the trigger.

Suddenly a blood curling scream filled the theater. I rushed out on stage in my costume to find Marianne on the floor, lifeless, like a rag-doll but only with bloody spewing out of where her heart once was.

I covered my mouth in shock and backed away from the scene, trying to grab hold to anything to steady myself before I faint.

Looking down, a small faint smile ran across my lips. I stifled that smile and clumsily walked out the back door of the theater, out into the fresh cool air of New York’s December. I straighten my back and turned around before giving a final bow like at the end of a show, imaging the curtains closing to the standing ovation before standing upright again, walking towards the direction of the Hudson.

I buried my hands in my pocket, feeling for the cold brass of the blank round that was supposed to be in the rifle and can’t help but letting out the widest grin ever. All those years of abuse by that bitch was all gone because of a single round through her cold black heart. I laughed as I tossed that blank round into the Hudson, bidding goodbye to everything that has happened in my life.

In the background, I can already hear sirens blaring, so typical of New York. I turned up my coat collar, tuck my neck in and gleefully walked away.

I mean, what do i know? After all, I am only but a background character.

.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/5pumg9/wp_you_are_just_a_background_character_in_a/dcud1ki/

[littleredbookoftravels]

[WP] Your kidnapper is bored, so he makes an offer: if you can beat him 1 on 1 at a game of your choice, you go free. If you lose, you die.

I’ve never knew fear could be this paralysing. Being told that I will be gutted alive, my sense of fear went into overdrive. So imagine to my surprise when he proposed the idea of a game.

“So you ready to deal?” The sound of Beethoven’s symphony 5 pierced my eardrums and I looked at the man whom had injected such fear into me.

“Let me get this straight, a 1v1 with any game of my choice?” I asked skeptically.

“Yep” he replied, busy twirling his hunting knife. “If you lose, I’ll get to gut you alive”

I trembled at that thought. I’ve gutted wild game before while hunting but the thought of getting gutted, let’s just say, did not sit well within me.

“Come on, it’ll be fun! You’ll have 5 seconds to decide. 5… 4… 3…” he counted.

“Okay! I’ll play! I’ll play…” I replied, knowing full well that my gamble might not even pay off.

“What game will it be? I’ll ace any of your game” he asked with glee.

My mind scurried to find games that will give me a definite win or at least a higher chance of winning. But seeing his trophy wall of preserved human heads, suddenly I’m beginning to think I might not have a chance. It was at the point I remembered a game my buddies and me used to play while drinking. It was called…

Muffled screams broke my train of recollection. How Long must it been since I’ve been set free. The cuts where the zip ties were still stinging whenever I run my hands across.

“Be quiet” I hissed as I jab him with another syringe filled with adrenaline. The look of fear in his eyes were genuine. Never did he think he would lose at such a simple game.

Fear.. oh how wonderful it is when you’re the person inflicting it. I smile and laughed.

“Never forget, almost nothing rhymes with orange” I said with a grin so wide that The Joker would be proud of.

As I begin gutting my captor, the soothing melody of ode to joy came on.

Before losing his consciousness, I whispered in his ear, “looks like the hunter, just became the hunted”

Oh what a joy it is to be alive.

[littleredbookoftravels]

[WP] You live in a world where magic exists, however, you must sacrifice a memory in order to cast a spell. The more memories, or the more precious a memory, the more powerful the magic. You just woke up with no memory save a name.

“Anna?! ANNA!” I jolted up, drenched in sweat and my senses heightened.

Books of ancient languages and weirdly drawn scriptures surrounded me. I picked one up and dusted the dust off, revealing a language that was alien to my weary mind. The dark surroundings of a once lovely home engulfed me. I picked myself up and staggered towards the altar, where the beautiful picture of a woman which I have no memory of stared back.

Suddenly my body begun convulsing and I fell to the floor, unable to move at the intense pain in my head.

“Mitchell.. Mitchell..” as the voice softly called out, like a soothing lullaby. The face that accompanied it was equally as beautiful, with hazel eyes, freckled skin, light brown hair and a smile that could captivate anyone. She looked at me with eyes that sparkled with love and in that moment, all the pain was gone. In that moment I felt alive. However, at the corner of my eye, a black shadow was rapidly approaching, too fast to stop, too menacing to comprehend. She still had her back towards it and I all could do was scream her name. “ANNA!”

In that instant I woke up, remembering the last bit of memories for the woman I have so dearly loved.

“You’re awake… It’s been a year though.. I take it that you’ve called me for a deal?” a gentle voice said as I stood up and came face to face with an impeccably dressed gentleman.

“Who are you?” I stuttered.

“Me? I am the buyer and it was you who called for me. Something about needing that last bit of magic to complete the spell” he shrugged as he smoked his cigar.

“I need to get back wife back” I managed to blurt out before another round of intense pain attacked my head.

“You do know that this is your last bit of memory right? After that you’ll not remember anything and you’ll be like a new man, an empty vessel, void of identity and memories.” he looked at me skeptically.

“Do it.. DO IT” I screamed with my head in my hands as I finally blackout from the pain.

“Mitchell… Mitchell!” I jolted up, this time with the warm sun hitting my face.

“Mitchell, you alright? Jeez, if you’re that tired you should rest and not insist on fetching me, silly” as I turned to face the gentle, soothing voice.

“Anna? ANNA?!” I shouted and embraced her. “Oh my god, it really is you!”

“Hey! Hahaha, did you missed me that much? I’ve only been gone for a week! Let’s go home Mich, we’ve got a whole day together” She laughed as I pulled away from her embrace.

I pull out of the airport car-park and as I turned to look at her all I saw was the woman I’ve come to love, beautiful, with hazel eyes, freckled skin, light brown hair and a smile that could captivate anyone.

What I didn’t see was the black shadow that was approaching us. So fast, so menacing. Only that it wasn’t a shadow at all, it was a black pickup truck…

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/5lo4mc/wp_you_live_in_a_world_where_magic_exists_however/dby2io2/

[littleredbookoftravels]

What I want

[littleredbookoftravels]

D.Va’s new emotes [2 of 2] - GAME ON [LEGENDARY]

[littleredbookoftravels]

Lu’82, Shibuya （渋谷）

[littleredbookoftravels]

Whatever the Weather: Photographic Observations of Atmospheric Activities

Do not miss out the little things around you. Meteorological activities and their effects down one earth create poetic beauty and enigma worth being kept within four frames. Immortalize the movements and forces of the atmosphere through nature photography.

Here are some photographs from the community members, whom have sought beauty within the small gifts of nature.