#Snowfall in Desert

[rightnewshindi]

सऊदी अरब के अल जफ प्रांत में हुई बर्फबारी, दुनिया भर में शेयर किए जा रहे वीडियो; लोग हुए हैरान

Snow in Saudi Arabia: जब किसी रेगिस्तानी इलाके का नाम आता है, तो जहन में तेज गर्मी, तपती रेत और शुष्क हवाओं का ख्याल आता है। लेकिन सऊदी अरब में प्रकृति ने इस धारणा को एकाएक बदल दिया है। इस बार रेगिस्तान में कमाल हो गया है। वहां की तपती जमीन बर्फ की चादर ओढ़े नजर आई। ऐसे हालात ने कई लोगों को हैरत में डाल दिया। यह बर्फबारी सऊदी अरब के अल जफ प्रांत में हुई है, जो जॉर्डन की सीमा से सटा हुआ है। ये…

[dangermousie]

Top Dozen cdramas - 2024

This can obviously change but nothing truly exciting looks to air for the rest of the year so that's unlikely. My Top Dozen for the year are likely be set in stone.

It's a very idiosyncratic list which has two mini dramas, three moderns (!!! for me that's insane) and a lot of vibes dramas.

12 Hard to Find - all vibes all the times. A tragic romance that feels like a Gothic fairytale, this is what minidramas could be.

11 Love In the Desert - out of all the dramas on this list, this is the one that screams most "a good time." It's a romance and visual feast and webnovel madness and sexy good time and it made me cry.

10 Fortune Writer - a mini that is so smart and meta and fun about narratives and fate and villainy and fighting the story itself. So clever.

9 Derailment - a puzzle and a love story, telling most anything about it would be a spoiler but this story about a rich girl from 2025 who seemingly wakes up in a parallel universe in 2023 in body of a poor doppelganger, and the young man who was in love with the original has everything including addressing what it must feel to people to have a transmigrator possess a loved one.

8 Tender Light - the ending was just - it's the reason it's not n1. But the rest of this drama about an abused wife and an idealistic young man refusing to bow to societal pressure was just exquisite. It addresses morality and loneliness and complicity and sacrifice. Just incredible. Poetry in motion.

7 Will Love In Spring - a modern romance cdrama? In my list? Is the world ending? But seriously, this is such a gorgeous, realistic yet intense exploration of love and loss and trauma. It made me utterly reevaluate Li Xian to boot.

6 Snowfall - this is such a fever dream of a mood piece of a vampire romance, with seriously BDSM and gay vibes, as well as utterly incredible canon age gap ride or die OTP with Ouyang Nana bothering to act for the first time in her life and Vengo Gao embodying a gentleman vampire to perfection. Li Muge remains one of my favorite directors for a reason.

5 Heroes - the story of three very different men all consigned to the dustheap of history by changing times (the best swordsman in the era of guns, a former imperial guard of a regime about to be overthrown, a constable obedient to obsolete code who studied for imperial exams which got abolished) as the Qing dynasty is about to fall, this has fights, humor, three (!) separate love stories, philosophy and utter and complete heartbreak. The performances, the ideas, the filming and the writing all combine to make a bleak masterpiece with a 99% death rate (I am not kidding, only tertiaries make it out.) If I were in charge, it would get all the awards.

4 The Legend of Shen Li - the one truly mainstream idol costume hit on the list. It's an adult, passionate xianxia that reunites Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin as deities and battle powerhouses in a love story that is so full of yearning and passion and intensity I feel like peeking through my fingers. This is everything xianxia romance tries to be and almost never is. This just might be my favorite xianxia of all time, tbh.

3 Eternal Brotherhood - a dark horse whose existence I didn't even know about before it aired. Visually stunning despite its tiny budget, this narrative about three sworn brothers in a kingdom and world in crisis, is pitch perfect in its humor, its intensity, its tragedy and its themes (also THREE!!!! amazing love stories despite not being a romance-centric show.) The battles, the friendships, the traumas, the darkness at the heart of it all!

2 Fangs of Fortune - the sole drama that can rival JoL2 for me (only caveat is it's still airing), this is visually the most jaw dropping drama I've ever seen, but it's also high fantasy the way it should be - making me feel so immersed that stopping feels like coming up from a deep dive or waking up from a hypervivid dream. It has impeccable performances (many from actors who I don't normally even like), and its plot and relationships and themes - fate and sacrifice and choice and found family bonds and trauma and so many other things - make it feel as if it was made just for me.

1 Joy of Life 2 - THE drama of 2024 for me. It's somehow better than the incredible first installment. It's funny, it's heartbreaking, it has insane performances, a narrative that hits all my personally favorite themes (a person trying to remain human in an inhuman world, righteousness not being weak), a large cast of fascinating characters who feel like they live in front of me (there are no throwaway roles in this), my favorite ship of the year (though it's not even a ship-centric show) and above all, Zhang Ruoyun's live wire of a performance as Fan Xian, arguably my favorite cdrama character of all time. It should not work yet it does. Brilliantly.

[gennsoup]

It was like a winter night with a fall of snow to smother the world once and for all.

Arthur Rimbaud, The Deserts of Love

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[jimroche]

The desert after a snowfall. Within hours everything turned green.

[lasvegasoutdooradventure]

Winter in Grand Canyon! Check out our amazing Covered Wagon that are temperature controlled. Perfect for a romantic getaway!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

Desert Places Robert Frost Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast In a field I looked into going past, And the ground almost covered smooth in snow, But a few weeds and stubble showing last. The woods around it have it–it is theirs. All animals are smothered in their lairs. I am too absent-spirited to count; The loneliness includes me unawares. And lonely as it is that loneliness Will be more lonely ere it will be less– A blanker whiteness of benighted snow With no expression, nothing to express. They cannot scare me with their empty spaces Between stars–on stars where no human race is. I have it in me so much nearer home To scare myself with my own desert places

[alive on all channels]

Soft cascades of snowfall

© gif by riverwindphotography, March 2023

[i-ideate]

???

[jewish-sideblog]

Saudi Arabia saw their first ever snowfall the other day. Meanwhile Mt Fuji just had its first ever year without snow in October. A few weeks ago there was a devastating hurricane in the Appalachian mountains, 600 miles inland. And a few years ago, the Texas desert was hit by a snowstorm that resulted in hundreds of deaths.

If you have any administrative power over any business, community or organization, anywhere in the world, please make contingency plans for every kind of natural disaster. Yes, even the ones that “don’t happen around here.” Having a plan you never need is far better than needing a plan you never made.

[101now]

Substantial (very) low elevation snowfall possible later this week in CA as cold and active weather pattern develops : Weather West

A dramatic (but dry, in some places) cold frontal passage Tue–very windy and much colder The initial cold front late Tue will be very strong but mostly dry, bringing widespread strong winds and colder temperatures. But the main action to follow will be on Wed-Sat, depending on where you are in the state. In unusually dramatic fashion, there will be a sudden shift from mild, dry, and quiescent…

[tcfactory]

Christmas is mentioned in these situations because it's widespread knowledge when it's supposed to be and people are aware of the concept of "white Christmas", as in "in most of Europe there's usually lasting snow in the second half of December". It's a good benchmark to illustrate climate change without whipping out a calendar every time you bring it up.

If I told you that there supposed to be either rain or snow on Saint Lucy's Day you wouldn't even know which month I'm talking about, much less the day. And my country is further south than Germany, for the record, where the fuck did the 'no white Christmas southern than Amsterdam' thing even come from??

Christmas as a cultural icon is starting to get really dystopian in a climate sense, december has historically been a time of year in which there would be snow in a significant portion of europe and north america, and the fact that its not even icy this time of year and all the christmas songs and decorations reference a time of year that will likely never exist in the same way again in my life time is so strange.

[newscast1]

Desert hotspot Kuwait turns winter white as city hit by rare hail storm | Pics

Desert hotspot Kuwait turns winter white as city hit by rare hail storm | Pics

Kuwait, one of the hottest countries on Earth, has been hit by a rare hail storm. Images of the hail-covered white roads were shared widely on social media. Kuwait,UPDATED: Dec 29, 2022 02:13 IST Youths pose for a picture with hail particles along the side of a road after a storm in the Umm al-Haiman district, about 55 kilometres south of Kuwait City, on December 27, 2022 (Photo: AFP) By India…

[basedhighsenberg]

99% of climate activists have absolutely no good point of reference for their personal experiences with how the climate has changed in their life. They watch videos of weather patterns happening miles away on their screens from their sterile urban apartments they hardly ever leave, and are so sure the climate has rapidly changed because they only experience it in depth once every 5 years and don't understand the normal climactic patterns for the area they live in.

In 2022 my state of Utah- a desert state, was in a terrible drought. Everyone was so sure it was evidence of climate change and celebrities were pointing fingers at the conservative state government for not doing more to "fight climate change" and help fix the problem before the Great Salt Lake "dried up".

In in the winter of 2022/2023 my state had the heaviest snowfall ever recorded since the state was founded in 1896, and in 2023 it has one of the wettest summers on record. Throughout all of 2023 and 2024 so far not a single bit of the state has been in a drought. The Great Salt Lake went back to its peak water level, and all the climate doomsday proselytizers pointing at Utah suddenly vanished.

This is perfectly normal for the climate in which I live. A desert climate that has periods of excessive dry and excessive wet, had a longer than normal dry spell that was followed up by a wetter than normal winter/summer? Makes perfect fucking sense if you're not a fucking moron who never goes outside.

[starlight-incarnate]

House of Feänor as Aesthetics:

Fëanor  —  loud voice, commanding presence, analytical, natural leader, piercing eyes, foggy hillsides, black boots, tipping their head back to breathe the air, mirrored lakes and everything below the surface, tearing leaves from trees, blunt sarcasm, long dark hair, deep sleeper, rotting tree stumps, black leather jacket, songs that makes you want to create a storm, rebellious, ambition, unstoppable passion, fast trains, polaroids, empty castles.

Maedhros — walking silently, stronger due to all the stuff meant to kill them, ignoring their mental health issues, fiery red hair, crumbling marble, oversized hoodies, raw voice, lingering touches, faint music in the distance, calming down from a panic attack, long heavy cloaks, cold hands, disillusioned with the world, insomnia, unhealthy habits, sighs made visible by cold night air, strong hugs, never sleeps, loud music, freckles, dark under-eyes.

Maglor — hypnotising smiles, a broken mind, melancholy, driving through mountains and the woods, iced coffee, the faint feeling of raindrops on your cheeks, ripped jeans, tight hugs, whispered compliments, deep conversations, late night texts, nimble hands, thin blades, white lilies, vertigo, unkept journals, lightning and thunder, rhythms so raw the heartbreak is showing, shattered glass, walking alone on a cold night, silver necklaces, regret.

Celegorm — bright eyes, climbing rock formations, cold-hearted, hard breathing after running, wood cabins, gladiator arenas, wicked smiles, twisted branches, wild hair, growing more and more dangerous, night drives, adrenaline rushes, bruises, bloody cloaks, running from society, breathless laughing, that animalistic unpredictability, silver and leather bracelets, strong coffee after a sleepless night, city lights from a high rise, addiction, barking dogs, hurricanes.

Caranthir — ironic smirks, bitten nails painted black, lightning in summer, empty threats, sunglasses hiding dead eyes, thick chain jewellery, temperamental, goes to car races just to watch the crashes, deep glares, tongue/lip piercings, midnight walks, lightbulbs burning out, diamonds, crushed ice, a glint of cat eyes in the dark, gold coins in storm drains, cold hands, storm clouds rolling in, theatres, suppressed emotions, wrought iron gates, motorcycles. 

Curufin — cherries and Diet Coke, white marble, a studio apartment on the 67th floor, tattoos, neon lights, sweetened coffee, smudged makeup, too-loud music, cursive notes written in red ink, veiny forearms, sharp canines, fresh snowfall, high rise buildings, white light, sheer robes with nothing underneath, fog, stained glass windows, colourful hair, slow heartbeats, long-forgotten love, cold mountaintops, eternal silence.

Amrod — burnished copper, feverish eyes, hues of orange and gold, stars and spades, brewing tea, freckles, hardwood floors, poisonous flowers, listens to Hozier, messy hair, fake circle glasses, bullet point notes on a restaurant napkin, comfortable silence, broken wings on insects, old hungers, the whispering of trees, kicking stones on deserted paths, forgotten places, origami stars, old overgrown stone castles, morning mist, horse riding.

Amras  —  misplaced keys, wandering aimlessly, selectively mute, deep lakes hiding secrets, pine trees, restless nights, misunderstood, reliving the same day over and over again, graphic tees, dead moths, visual mind, muffled screams into a pillow, listens to asmr, doc martens, profanity, burned cigarettes, zoning out often, heart fluttering nervously, confusing satellites for stars, comic filled bookshelves, radios, old jeeps, glowing keyboards.

Celebrimbor — ravens, white-hot metal, the darkest shade of black, glittering skin, low waist pants, stars falling, the heat lingering in the evening, petals falling off dead flowers, trusting the wrong people, blue veins, cobblestone paths, linoleum tiles, bruises/scars easily, the heat lingering in the evening, cities awake late, card games, overanalysing everything, shiny fabrics, the slamming of a shot glass, the sting of betrayal.

[nature-hiking]

Starting the PCT - Pacific national crest trail, CA, April 2023

photo by: nature-hiking

on the first day of my PCT thru-hike attempt last year everyone quickly realised that the main challenges of the desert; heat and water access, would be greatly mitigated in '23 because of the record snowfall. there would be ample water access throughout the desert, with the longest dry section being a mere 13 miles.

this did of course mean that doing the sierra nevada immediately after the desert would be next to impossible because most resupply stops would still be snowed in.

in the end I would quit the PCT at kennedy meadows because I got the chance to buy a house in my ideal location in amsterdam. while I did try to come back and restart the trail in north california in july, I quickly found out how important the people hiking along with you are when you hit a boring section like the logging forests of northern california.

while i did hike a bit more in Lassen national park (really underrated US park) with someone I met in sacramento, I quit after that to start working on the house instead.

[serpentface]

Here's a heavily improved Imperial Wardin map, with a focus on climate and geography (uses the Koppen Climate Classification). This is an attempt to infuse pre-existing lore too established to retcon with a degree of realism, but there's only so much I can do.

The majority of the climate falls under the hot mediterranean and semi-arid classification, with small pockets of warm mediterranean and arid climes. The entire region experiences a rainshadow effect from the eastern Blackmane Mountain range, which blocks northeasterly winds from the eastern ocean and starkly divides the Sub-Viper landmass between its humid east and dry west.

Most of the interior is grassland, savannah, and scrub. Savannah heavily coincides with a history of human occupation and controlled burns, and is mostly based around oak. Grassland, scrub, and semi-desert dominates the semi-arid regions. Small pockets of high desert and salt flats occur in the arid zones.

A forest originally spanned much of the north, consisting of predominantly oak. This was gradually eliminated due to multiple factors- a warming climate, low intensity human intervention (hunter-gatherers and pastoralists clearing land with controlled burns), and high intensity exploitation (deforestation for timber). Additional woodlands found along the major riverways have been wholly eliminated by logging within the past several centuries.

The largest remaining span of woodland occurs within and north of the Highlands, and in the sparsely populated northeast, where a major and mostly intact oak forest stretches to the Blackmane mountains. A smaller pocket of woodland occurs in the volcanic highlands of Lobera. Other pockets remain, but are isolated and insignificant on the map.

Most of the geography is flat, divided by a range of hills that are the heavily eroded remains of an ancient mountain range. The highest peaks of this range comprise the contemporary Highlands, which have the highest elevations and coldest climate in the region. This is the only territory that regularly receives snowfall, and is the source of several major rivers. The rest of the range is too low to drastically affect the climate, save for the Red Hills east of the Cholemdi basin, whose rain shadow effect (heavily compounded by the basin's low elevation) renders this valley the hottest and driest part of the region. This range once formed a land bridge across the Viper into Finnerich (though this was prior to anatomically modern humans Existing) with its only remnants being smatterings of islands.

The province Lobera holds a small range of volcanic highlands, composed of a network of mostly dead volcanic craters. The volcano Odatoche is the only active site in the region, though has been dormant for centuries and has not had a major eruption in millenia. The other major geological feature is the Sons of Creation, which is the fabled site of God’s self-sacrifice from which the world was made. This is the eroded range of a very large impact crater, consisting of two impact rings (visible as a circular formation of hills) a ring lake, and an elevated center.

The most fertile land is found in Ephennos, owing to the presence of the Black River and its highly fertile delta (which contains the only major semi-permanent marshes outside of Highland river valleys). This is the second largest river in the region, being a confluence of two major river systems out of the Highlands (the Urbin/Erubin and Troibad/Nedachemi rivers). Erubinnos has the largest river, the Kannethod, which originates in the Blackmane mountains.

Agriculture around some of the other river systems is mostly or entirely dependent on their post-rainy season flooding. The most prominent is the Yellowtail river (flows south past Erub). In the very distant past, this was the longest river in the region, and carved out the Cholemdi basin and reached the sea. In the contemporary, it dries out long before even approaching the sea (though occasionally still floods the basin in abnormally rainy years). The Brilla river system out of the Red Hills (flows to Wardin) reaches the sea year-round, but has been known to run dry in exceptionally severe drought, and irrigation along its length depends on its flooding.

There are very few significant lakes in the region (small lakes are unmarked). The biggest is the volcanic crater lake Aganagarre in Lobera, the Yellowtail lake north of Erub, and the ring lake within the Sons of Creation.