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gothamloveforever · 6 years ago

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This is the second article that Film Daily has published about Gotham.

Gotham is an innovative show based on DC Comics characters and produced by Warner Bros. Television. The Batman origin narrative helped us, as rapt viewers understand how our favorite heroes (Batman) and villains (The Joker, Penguin) came to be the way they are. It also cast a light on just how Gotham City became the wretched crime-filled cesspool we all know & love.

Despite general network issues (the old “being moved to a much worse timeslot” thing), Gotham’s fanbase managed to rally Fox into renewing the show for a fifth and final season – a whopping two seasons short of what the fanbase were promised.

Gotham certainly doesn’t have a shortage of fans or viewers but Fox, like many networks before, has been using the outdated Neilsen rating system to make decisions about shows’ popularity. Let’s be serious: who under the age of 70 actually watches live TV anymore?

Just because an episode gets a viewing figure below that of a series premiere or finale, that doesn’t mean the viewership has fallen considerably. Networks now have a responsibility to establish a dialogue with streaming platforms to consolidate more accurate figures and finally find out for themselves which are the best performers.

Because Gotham is a Warner Bros. production, not a Fox property, sadly the show was less lucrative and more expendable for the network. The show being packaged with the hot mess Lethal Weapon for advertising partnerships also didn’t do the show any favors.

We’ve got plenty of ideas on how Gotham could be saved, but today we’re focusing on what the fans think of the show. TV execs: prick up your ears. Don’t you want to help this incredibly passionate fandom with a continuation of the stories that they love? We would . . . .

These tweets have been edited and condensed for clarity. Join the campaign to #SaveGotham over on Twitter. (Tweets by Fans, under the cut.

Beatriz‏

“Gotham lost about 54 episodes of content, the character development and storylines were lost due to that, some characters had to be killed, others didn’t have the screen time they deserved. We fans were not happy about it.”

Bandi

“People say that Gotham doesn’t need saving because it’s getting an ending. This is true, but the ending we’re getting isn’t the planned one. The writers had plans for 7 seasons. That’s a lot of story left! We got 4.5 instead.”

#SaveGotham | #Gotham spoilers‏

“Gotham is such an original show. It the closest thing we got to a live action adaption of the Batman origin story universe and it’s so good!”

catherine haverty‏

“Gotham is The Coolest Show.”

Angela #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“This show has been mishandled for so many years by the network. Not only was there so little promotion,the use of a outdated & inaccurate rating system(Nielsen),but there was so much drama that went on with Warner Brothers & Fox. All this played a part in getting Gotham cancelled.”

#Gotham | Thursdays 8PM on FOX‏

“Gotham inspires such devotion! The fandom has been holding daily Power Hours on Twitter for an entire year, as of May; advocating for Gotham, writing letters and emails; utilizing other forms of social media. It’s all a labor of love! #SaveGotham”

#SaveGotham!‏

“Gotham is an exciting, daring sort of show with characters that no other show quite has. For lack of better explanation, Barbara Kean said it best on the show: It’s Gotham, baby. We’ve all got flair!”

Liz ‏

“Gotham is a show that truly deserves more than is has received. For years we’ve watched the early lives of beloved characters in the Batman universe grow into who we know they’ll become. Each of these characters are played by actors that pour their soul into their work.”

Mr. Millicent Cordelia‏

“Gotham’s provided a fresh take on the Batman mythos, created original characters of lasting merit, and re-worked minor comic characters to have major impact. #SaveGotham”

James Rankin‏

“For years, peeps have been denied a Batman TV show. Gotham was never that, but it had the makings of revealing all of the back stories. “

λουισα‏

“This show deserves better. The acting is incredible, the writing never cease to surprise, the atmosphere of the show is powerful, the fights are good, the costumes are great! It’s one of the best if not DC TV’s best show and it didn’t deserve to end like this.”

Gothambatcatfanspain‏

“We want to see development of the characters with the same actors. We love the cast, they deserve to continue.”

Svetlana‏

“Gotham is such an interesting show. I want this show to continue, I’m not ready to say goodbye to my favourite characters.”

#Gotham spoilers here | #SaveGotham‏

“Not giving the seven seasons they were contracted for…That’s unfair.”

Kate O’Riley Cosplay

“Fox and Warner Brothers were constantly fighting over because one owns the right to the characters and the other was broadcasting it and they all wanted the most out of it .”

Mr. Millicent Cordelia‏

“I never imagined Oswald Cobblepot as the most compelling character in the Bat-verse, but Robin Lord Taylor has brought him to life in such a way as to make him endearing, charismatic, terrifying, and endlessly fascinating.”

Destiny‏

“Gotham is a show that’s been pushed aside by the network one to many times and it needs to have a full story without cutting massive plot lines out, it’s insulting to the fans not to finish it off properly! #SaveGotham”

DONT LET GOTHAM END!! #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“Gotham has some of the most wonderful story telling and some amazing villains out there. Some great action too and I would love for it to continue its 7 season run like it was supposed to.”

MORDRED LLEWELYN JONES‏

“Gotham fully embraces everything that DC can offer in a way that films & even comics fail to do. The violence, grief, dark humour, love, struggle, psychology, charisma etc. It paints a beautiful picture & showcases just how much DC is capable of in a way which nothing else has.”

#Gotham | Thursdays 8PM on FOX‏

“Gotham’s production values, art direction, and cinematography are of a quality so high which is very unusual for TV. It rivals the quality that’s usually reserved for films.”

Ellen Sunden

“Gotham is a cleverly written and brilliantly acted show with top notch special effects and wardrobe designs.”

“Gotham’s Season 5 has an ultra-impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes…a score reserved only for the best of the best in film and TV shows!”

#SaveGotham | #Gotham spoilers‏

“Gotham is totally different from the other DCTV shows as it’s an origin story for characters of the Batman universe. It’s original, dark, funny, esgy, action-packed with some humor, exactly like the comic books. The cast is big and very talented especially Bruce and Selina.”

Tam Loves Kris

“Gotham is a home to so many quality characters that are played by a wonderful cast of people. The fans know what they want and we hope for what is right. #SaveGotham”

Angela #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“Gotham was treated unfairly, so fans have been campaigning to #SaveGotham, tweeting every single day for 10 months. We’re missing 2.5 seasons and we hope to recover them someday. The talent on this show is extraordinary to watch and hope a network can pick up the show ”

nicolle | GOTHAM SPOILERS‏

“This show is so unique and creative.”

Eoghan

“I believe it should be saved as there’s many more more stories to tell. Giving more development to Jeremiah, seeing Bruce as Batman and everyone in their future roles. I feel like Gotham is the perfect combination of The Dark Knight Trilogy And the 60’s Batman TV show. It’s great.”

#SaveGotham!‏

“Gotham is a creative take on traditional comic stories. The actors who portray their characters do so with passion and individually bring fresh, unique takes to the characters they obviously care so much about.”

shane nygmobs endgame now‏

“Gotham’s latest season currently scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a unique take on the Batman mythos that’s embraced the exploration and development of these iconic characters in a prequel, which has never been done before. And yet, there is still so much left to delve into.”

E. Nygma‏

“There hasn’t been a live action Batman TV series since 1966. Put aside the format of the original series. It was revolutionary and could easily fit in today’s market! Gotham may be a prequel show, but it’s absolutely a continuation of the original series! Let it go on!”

ᔕIEᖇᖇᗩ // Gᴏᴛ Hᴀᴍ?‏

“Gotham is one of the reasons I am still here today. The cast and the fans have helped me through so much. I used to be afraid to show my love for superhero’s but bc of this show I am happy to express it. One of the best tv series there is today. And that does not deserve to go.”

lee‏

“Speaking as a lifelong Batman/DC fan Gotham has put its own unique spin on the franchise that has brought new life to the franchise and new fans. The fans want the show to continue. The creators want it. The actors want it. Gotham deserves a second chance.”

ulia‏

“This show is outstanding and it’s absolutely incomprehensible how this show was cancelled.”

Kathryn ‏

“Gotham is the only modern Batman interpretation with constantly increasing ratings, an amazing cast and memorable characters. There isnt a single character thats lacks personality.”

Space_Invader/Spoilers!‏

“Gotham is unique in every way and you can tell the people that work on it, cast and crew, love working on it. It’s in every detail of the show, in every interview they do. The deserve to grow even more.”

KatsaysNo| Gothamit‏

“Gotham has a beautiful cast and great story arcs that can still be extended, so many characters that are fleshed out and amazing to see on tv!”

Beverly‏

“At this point, Gotham would be better off on a network or streaming channel that will give it the freedom to keep making the episodes that keeps fans so loyal. Each season has gotten better. Who knows what could happen if it continues.”

Aurea‏

“I love Gotham! well-acted, visually appealing show.”

Shae Anderson

“We need to #SaveGotham because the retelling of these stories that we are so familiar with has been done so beautifully.”

simplyandsanely‏

“I’m not going to lie: I started watching #Gotham just to see what they were going to do with the Joker. But as time went on, I grew to love this show that’s helped grow so many characters in such a unique way.”

☆ sam‏

“No one has ever done a story about young Bruce Wayne growing up, no one has ever seen the backstories of villains. The characters are amazing, the actors are amazing, the fans are worldwide and so extremely passionate about this show #SaveGotham”

ρнσєиιx ‏

“Gotham went down in viewership because of the networks handling.”

charlie sora | #SaveGotham‏

“We were originally promised 7 seasons. In 2 weeks we will reach the most anticipated moment of the whole series, the arrival of Joker and Batman. But we will only have a 45 minute episode to see this happen which is extremely sad for fans.”

“We still haven’t explored major characters. This is extremely sad considering how well the writers have done.”

Brooke Brown‏

“This show just keeps getting better and better. Gotham just has so much potential that was completely wasted on Fox.”

Ana‏

“Gotham quite literally breathed new life into me with its inspiring characters and plots. The takes on the familiar Batman characters are unique and interesting, the cast is superb, and this show has a lot more stories to tell – and fans who want to see them

#SaveGotham”

Anders‏

“Gotham’s a great drama show with dark humor & amazing visual. Plus it’s great to see several lgbt+ characters in the main cast.”

Mirela‏

“I think there are many reasons why the show shouldn’t end yet and I’m sure a lot of fans have already pointed it out before.”

Scheming Minor‏

“As a lifelong Batman fan, Gotham has meant new beginnings and creative new ways to wind the mythos of Batman’s beginnings and before. It’s hard to pick where to start, but this show make me jump back into the Batman fandom after watching from S1.”

Mariah Sturtevant‏

“The cast and crew both are absolutely amazing! Everything from set to costume to music to characters is breathtaking and it makes the show truly immersive. We care about the characters because the actors make them real. That’s why it should be saved.”

Sadame21‏

“It does not deserve to end this way, at least someone make Penguin a spinoff please!”

James Gordon’s Stan‏

“It’s a show filled with mystery, interesting topics, and many characters were under developed because of this cancelling.”

Batmanfan935‏

“It is the perfect take on the Batman universe.”

Reah #SAVEGOTHAM‏

“The style is dramatic, edgy, and thrilling in it’s exposition for a new age in the Batman timeline. We’re still starving for more. #SaveGotham”

#Gotham #SaveGotham #Film Daily #Gotham article

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v-le · 6 years ago

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Kmusic: My artists in 4 months

Foreword: PHEW this one took a while.... but I have really had so much on my mind lately that i knew i just HAD to churn this one out asap... I also would’ve tried to include videos rather than images but it’s a pain in the butt... I guess my vids will be top secret for now hehe. But really. a true blessing, these 4 months. Ah, I still really cant believe it..

If you were to ask me how I felt about my first semester at Yonsei and simply the past 4 months in Korea, from August 21st to December 23rd, I would probably just emphasize how grateful I am. But to narrow down this deep affection for all the happenings, I would have to do so in a music context. It is such a fascinating and seemingly mundane thing to go on about: Why does my music mean what it means to me to this day? How have those values shaped my experiences in Korea so far? What does it mean for me going forward? These are questions I want to ask myself, reflect upon, and continue to explore as I await to begin another journey in Korea once again.

If I rewind to when I first started listening to Korean music, it would be when I was… I don’t even know. I was exposed to it since I was about 7 or 8 years old, when my sister was sucked into the very beginnings of OG K-pop: Wonder Girls, Big Bang, 2NE1, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, you name ‘em all. I’ve talked about this a lot, but during those days I was never particularly interested in that side of music. It didn’t make much sense to me and it just sounded mreh. But after several years of this exposure, I fell into my own K-pop obsession-hole starting with LEDApple, a very unassuming, catchy-music-making band. I was in it for the music. At first.

Okay, now fast forward past my kpop era: you can read all about it in my very extensive post from about a year ago here. But yes, lets leave that chunk of my life behind and think about where I stand from a “music maturation” perspective. Right here. Right now.

I cannot pinpoint the exact moment or day or time in which I fell into the “deeper” side of Korean music. I am pretty certain that it simply occurred naturally, gradually. What I know for a fact is that I owe so much of myself to my music. At any given point in my life thus far, my music has defined a large portion of my identity: it really does mean a lot to me. I am constantly listening to music. To narrow this down into my current self’s context, my music mostly consists of Roy Kim, Sam Kim, DAY6, Kim Feel, Fromm, Jung Sewoon, Eddy Kim, Kwon Jin Ah, and many many many others.

These artists, the music that they make, is not K-pop. It never will be. I don’t care what those stupid Spotify playlists call some of the songs from these musicians, but they are not and never will be K-pop. (At most DAY6 could come closest to fitting). My discovery of each and every one of these artists varies from person to person of course, but most of my sentiments remain the same all throughout. I would give my everything for these people. But I want to make it very very very clear: it is not necessarily these PEOPLE, these faces, these appearances, these artists themselves that I am oh-so enthusiastic about. It is their voice & music. That is honestly all it really comes down to at the end of day. It is and has always been about the music.

I owe my deep appreciation for my music to several various factors ranging from emotionally & mentally detached parents & family, my somewhat introverted personality, and my incessantly over-analytical mindset. However, what exactly constitutes this deep appreciation is what I want to explore. A certain fact is that I hated high school. As I grew up through the ages of 13 to 17, I completely despised the American public education system that was high school. Without getting into the complex details about my community that was the heart of Silicon Valley and the various cultural pushes, I just have to say that high school felt like a sort of mental torture for me.

And during all those times, when I needed it the most, when I felt so completely lost, when I felt like no one would listen to me, nothing could console my distressed heart and mind, I always fell back to many of those artists listed above. Particularly to Roy and Sam. I owe them SO MUCH. They literally changed my life.

Home. 영원한 건 없지만. Your Song. These three songs, my life songs. Their lyrics literally saved my life. They mean everything to me. Without these songs from Roy & Sam, I would not be where I am today.

All my artists that I mentioned make their own music. They write, compose, produce, everything. They are the true masters of their voices (see, not K-pop). And so, when I listen to them, when I absorb their voices & melodies, I can sometimes really feel their sincerity, their yearning. I am so thankful for what they have produced for this world and for my ears to hear. However, within the past 4 months, I got to see, know, understand, and FEEL these artists on a whole new level.

In chronological order, here is a list of the artists I saw live &/or in person during my time in Korea thus far:

08/31 Roy Kim & Son Seungyeon @ Picnic Concert

09/01 Monogram, Baek Yerin, Kwak Jineon, Paul Kim, Bol4, Crush, Urban Zakapa @ Someday Festival (Day 1)

09/02 Fromm, Jo Hyunah, Jung Sewoon, Roy Kim, Yong Junhyung & Yang Yoseob, K. Will @ Someday Festival (Day 2)

09/08 DAY6 @ You Made My Day Fanmeeting

09/20 Roy Kim @ SNU Fall Festival

11/02 Roy Kim & Kim Haon @ Daellim Univ. Halloween Festival

11/04 Nam Woohyun (& Jang Dongwoo, Kim Sunggyu, Lee Sungyeol) @ 식목일 (Day 3)

11/10 Fromm @ Seoul Music Forum Mini Concert & Free Fansigning

11/11 Eddy Kim @ Miles Apart Album Fansigning

11/22 Sam Kim @ "Sun And Moon" 1st Album Release Showcase

12/01 Sam Kim @ "Sun And Moon" 1st Album Fansigning

12/09 Fromm @ "Midnight Candy" Mini Album Release Concert

12/16 Roy Kim @ ROchestra Live Tour 2018 (Seoul Day 2)

12/21 Sam Kim @ Lotte Tower World Park Christmas Busking

12/22 DAY6 @ "The Present" Christmas Special Concert (Day 1)

Breakdown:

Free: 5 events

Paid Tix: 6 events

Album Purchase & Application: 4 events

🌹 Roy Kim: 5 times

🌚 Sam Kim: 3 times

🌓 Fromm: 3 times

🎸 DAY6: 2 times

As an avid fan of many of these artists for YEARS, like Infinite for 8 years, Roy for 5, Sam since his debut in Apr. 2016, DAY6 since their debut in Sept. 2015, Fromm for over 4 years, Eddy for over 5 years, etc etc. I NEVER thought I would actually get to see or hear these people live. Okay, granted I saw DAY6 live back in Oct. 2017 as well as Sam & the entire Antenna fam in Sept. 2017, both in LA. But doing 3 fansignings????? Meeting and talking with Fromm, Eddy Kim, AND Sam Kim???? Seeing Roy FIVE TIMES??????????? Three times for FREE, once at a festival, and then even being able to go his end-of-the-year solo concert???????? Y’all…. It was literally a dream come true. A stroke of luck tenfold. Twelvefold. I saw at least one treasured artist a total of fifteen times. Whether it was at a college busking event, the Someday music festival, a fansigning, a fanmeeting, or even a solo concert. I was somehow there.

Seeing Roy live was something I thought I would never ever ever in my lifetime get to do. As I explained in my 1st semester wrap-up post found here, Roy’s situation with school made my hopes seem very bleak from the get-go. But still, my luck persisted 5 times throughout. I almost, nearly, COMPLETELY failed to acquire a ticket for his ROchestra solo concert, Seoul Day 2 show. It was probably the most energy-draining, stressful, painful and TERRIBLE ticketing experience I have ever experienced. And trust me, I’ve done lots of ticketing before (unfortunately). But after 1 hour of staying glued to that PC bang computer screen, I managed. And I went. And maybe I’ll have to do a separate post for it, but Roy Kim’s concert on December 16th, 2018, was the best concert I have ever been to in my life. Easily. It was so breath-taking.

But yes, enough with Roy. Fromm is my ultimate indie goddess and she has a charm that is so indescribably perfect. She decided to release a mini album over a year since her last one, in the middle of November while I was there and I wanted to DIE. It was suchhhhh a solid release, and I even got to attend a free fansigning with her as well for her solo concert for the album release. I LOVE her cheeky personality so much. And she really is just sooooo kind. I couldn’t have much of a conversation with her due to the time constraint, but I at least got to snap a quick selfie heh (which i wont exposed bc privacy ya feel??). Her solo concert was gorgeous in every single way; I honestly would be willing to pay any price to go to it again in a heartbeat. Even though it was for her “Midnight Candy” album release, it was basically a Fromm discography concert because she sang EVERYTHING and I was THIS close to wanting to cry because I just felt so grateful & happy in those moments. I love her I really do. Ah, also, 2 out of the 3 times I saw her, I wrote to her & posted on Instagram and she liked both posts for me :”).

Sam…. My luck with Sam was out of this world honestly…. I still get goosebumps thinking about how blessed I was to see Sam 3 times, 2 times in very special instances. First off. He announced the release of his FIRST FULL album after a TWO YEAR & A HALF HIATUS. Y’all. This boy hadn’t released anything for 2.5 entire years since his debut and then suddenly WHAM he does it. Somehow right when I was in Korea. AH… I still….. I’m still screaming inside. I screamed aloud in my room for a good 5 minutes straight when I first saw the news, and yes, to this day I am still screaming. His three pre-release tracks were GORGEOUS & Sun And Moon, track 1, literally brought me to tears without even trying. I had been missing his voice and presence for so long…

And then, for the full album release, Antenna announced a post in which if you pre-order his album when it comes out & email the Antenna staff with the receipt showing proof, you will be put in a drawing to attend his live showcase on the night of its release. OHMYGOSH. I knew I had to do it. I struggled a little bit & even felt like I was doing everything so untimely, but I am SO blessed that I really was able to order & pay for it, shoot Antenna an email real quick, and then nervously await my results for like a week. That one Friday the results were to be emailed out, I remembering feeling extremely anxious all throughout the day. I desperately wanted to go…. And at 6:00PM…. I got the email!!!!! I was literally shaking, hands & knees trembling and everything. I actually got invited to the ‘Sun And Moon’ 1st Album Showcase!!! Y’all!!! It was so amazing. It was the night before I had to leave to Taiwan early in the morning so it was quite stressful, but still!!!!! I felt so honored to be there that night: the venue was extremely intimate and Sam was soooososoooo gooooddd and the tracks he sang were sooo beautiful and just… everything about it was like a dream. I was truly blessed.

A week later…. Antenna announced Sam’s first FANSIGNING & once again I was overwhelmed with this “OMG I WANT TO GO, but how, should I really, but what about….??”. It was a physical album-purchase-based application process which means I had to go to this specific bookstore in Gangnam, buy x-amount of albums, and based on that amount, my name will be put into a drawing that many times. Very basic fansigning grounds. I already pre-ordered his album for the showcase, so I honestly didn’t really need another one… but I decided to test my luck & just purchase 1 measly album & see if that ONE album will help me get chosen. And o boy. I GOT IN :”)). When I saw my name on that list in the official fancafe post, I couldn’t believe it….

On the day of the fansigning which was happening inside a mall, starting at a certain time I was able to walk in and choose a random number from 1-100 and since I arrived early, I got to choose pretty early as well. When I saw my number I literally gasped aloud: #7. I know it’s a corny & cliché favorite number but only bc infinite ok. Being #7 meant that I literally say FRONT & CENTER of the stage…not even stage. There wasn’t a stage... it was just an open area. My turn came around very quickly because I was early and let’s just say I was a fking mess, repeating thank you over and over & literally, incessantly telling him how thankful I am for his music and how grateful that after all that time he took to came back, he came right when I was in Korea and how I was at Antenna in LA & his showcase too and thank you thank you, yadda yadda. Yeah…..I suck at these things I really do. Then, at the end of it all, he took a picture with the crowd of fans and ended up sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME LMAOOOOOOO. Okay here is a picture of maybe my biggest life accomplishment??? jk but no rly LOL.

look ma, i made it :”)

But really, the fact that I actually got to talk to Sam & just try to relay all my thanks that I have been owing to him for many years… wow… I’m still in shock and I am just so eternally thankful. I used to think to myself “damn, I wish I could talk to Sam one day” and damn…. I really did do it…

Eddy Kim was also another meeting that I could have only dreamed of before coming to Korea… His last release was 4 goddamn years ago oh my gosh… This fansign application was not a random drawing like Sam’s but just a “buy his album at this bookstore & u get in” sort of thing. To be honest I could blatantly tell that Eddy’s popularity is definitely not as comparable to the other artists that I cherish & I was quite shocked by this revelation. I knew for sure in America, who the hell would ever know him. But even in Korea, he seemed… just really not that well-known, especially from a music perspective. It was interesting and even a little disheartening to see. He was very kind & cutely impressed with my Korean skills and we literally just talked in a bunch of Konglish & once again I just kept repeating how thankful I was for his music in my life. How I waited for so long and his release literally matched up with my time there as well. Even though I never got to hear Eddy sing live, I am more than happy with the fact that I simply got to chat with him & relay my heart as best as possible.

After doing 3 full fansignings I have fully realized that as grateful for the opportunities I am, they are so difficult and stressful… To be given such a short amount of time to spill out my heart is essentially impossible for me LOL. I’d rather much LOVE to just to sit down with these artists not to fangirl or cry, but to have a real, genuine conversation about their music and why it holds so much sentiment for me. I would love to ask questions about their music and I would love to share with them how much it means me & why I am so thankful at the end of the day. That’s what I really wish I could do. Because even as I hurriedly expressed my countless thanks and probably sounded like a hot mess, I feel like I still just came off as a surface-level fan saying their thanks. But noo! In reality, I just wanted to relay how much their music means to me (I literally just typed this wow repetition is gr8). Which I feel like I really couldn’t do properly… I couldn’t get my heart across all the way ☹ but it’s okay because as I’ve been repeating, I am infinitely thankful nonetheless.

My first DAY6 event, their 3rd year anniversary 1st fanmeeting, was a bit of a flop for me simply because they talked wayyyyy to much & played stupid games & everything… and it was cute, but not what I was there for. I kinda wished I heard more of them singing, but it’s okay. In no way am I undermining this monumental day because I know it meant a lot to the boys & fans collectively. Jae could not participate due to health reasons & it definitely put a huge damper on the entire atmosphere, but the members tried their best and the entire audience even consistently sang aloud all of Jae’s parts during the songs when his voice was not there. They also sang a never-before-released track with Jae and they all just cried a bunch and me, sitting there, watching those light-wrist-band-thingies glow & beam & shine in-sync with the music, all sorts of colors, in a massive wave of lights & fanchants & music sewn together… wow it was honestly stunning & one of the most awesome spectacles I’ve ever experienced. Korean fans are really something else….

Speaking of which, attending 15 events during my 4 months there taught me many things about Korean concerts & fans that I find so extremely fascinating.

For most concerts, whether they are super hype-y & K-pop-y or a ballad one with minimal need for movement, when there are seats, fans with stay seated for the most part. In America, I feel like all fans tend to automatically stand (for basically all K-pop acts) regardless of the seating. But in Korea, at my experiences with DAY6 in particular (I also have heard that BTS in Seoul was the same), fans stayed sitting basically all throughout. The most like bodily movements they require would be the waving of their lightsticks. It was honestly pretty refreshing to see a generally calm & collected audience, at least where there was seating.

The fanchants are out of this world !!!!! Especially for the 2 times I saw DAY6, the fans were so on point with their fanchants: they were loud and clear and crisp AND THEY MATCHED WITH THE LIGHTS ON THEIR WRISTBANDS AND EVERYTHING wow was that so cool to see… The fans are super in unison & it honestly adds such a new level of energy to the experience.

SINGING !! Of course, since all these fans are Korean, they can actually sing all of these songs at concerts, unparalleled to international fans lol. One really cool moment at DAY6 that I will probably remember forever simply because this song is gorgeous & means a lot to me… but at day 1 of DAY6’s ‘The Present’ xmas concert series, Wonpil said “We’ve been on world tour for a while now and I’ve been wanting to try this out… if I play this song, can you sing for me?” and of course we all unconditionally said yes. And he started to play 그렇더라고요 on the keyboard & the ENTIRE AUDIENCE caught on immediately & we all sang the entire intro & first verse together in unison, as loud as we could, as the members joined in one by one w/ their own instruments, just watching us as we SANG FOR THEM. It was so cute & we even did it again with 장난 아닌데. This sort of stuff…. Wow…. Can only really happen at a domestic concert, which was honestly so so so beautiful. I LOVED IT!!!

No crazy, constant screaming during every part of the performance. Fans in Korea honestly only scream when necessary… ya feel? Sometimes at concerts, I feel like fans are just screaming at the top of the lungs the entire time, during every second of a song. But Korean fans chant when there is a chant, and cheer & scream when it really fits the situation. I really liked this more toned-down atmosphere from the Korean audiences.

I think that’s all I can really narrow down from my various experiences at Korean concerts compared to the ones in America… It really is quite different though, and I feel so honored to have witnessed this comparison countless times. I am really just honored to be there at those moments in general.

Which brings back around to this… upgraded level of connection towards my artists. After seeing so many of them in person and more than once for that matter, when listening to their music now… something definitely sounds different. When I listened to these artists before I saw them right in front of my eyes, their real, authentic voices blasting into my ears, I still felt moved, I still felt goosebumps, choked up, a bulging affection sometimes. And not that I have lost those feelings, no, definitely not. Now… now, when I listen to these artists through my earbuds or through my laptop… I can literally hear them in my ear. Does that even make sense? Well, duh… of course I can hear them. But like… it’s like… I can hear them on a much more intimate level than ever before. Now, I can really imagine & sense these voices in my head. I can pick up the sound of their breaths, picture their expressions, and really just HEAR their voices as if they were physically singing into my ear right there in that moment, in person. It’s such a peculiar and special and unique feeling that is honestly so hard to describe with just words…

But to be honest like… to this day I still cannot wrap my head around everything. I can barely count and keep track of all the artists I saw and when I saw them and what they sang. I feel like SO MUCH happened that my mind can barely grasp it all, as much as it wants to do so so badly… I still can barely comprehend it… years ago I would cry to Sam Kim, ponder how amazing he would be live… and then literally somehow, he sang two songs like 7 feet in front of me, and even sat right next to me. I thought Fromm was a goddess from another world: but I somehow got to talk to her & even take a selfie?? What?? I thought the world would never let me see Roy who always has his school life to manage as well…. But I got to see him live 5 times?? And even go to his solo concert?? WHAT??????? HOW????????? YOU GUYS, I could honestly go on and on and on because it still all feels like a dream…

In particular with Roy Kim… I say this to myself all the time, the irony is just… wow. Who would’ve known that after years of watching countless fancams, effortlessly memorizing his scarce yet existent fanchants, also memorizing set-lists without even trying, becoming all-too-familiar with things like the way he talks, addresses the crowd, sings specific songs, even all the way down to the way he does adlibs for certain songs… I unknowingly picked up & knew these performance aspects SO WELL through pure admiration, enthusiasm and just LOVE for every song he sings. And who would’ve known, that years later, I would have my very own fancams to cry over. After years of literally watching almost EVERY fancam of him on youtube, at all the various events he performed at, some years more frequently than others, today I can proudly say that I have my very own fancams of him, too. Ohmygosh, it’s still so hard for me to believe…

It really just….. *breathes deeply & tries to recollect self for the 24980164th time*…. It just goes to show… No, okay I don’t really know what it goes to show… But one thing is a fact: loving, cherishing, being thankful for, dedicating so much of my emotional & mental strength towards these seemingly-no-one artists has paid off tenfold. No, billionfold. I don’t even know. I just…. I just never thought I could do and see and hear and experience the things that I did. Never. These people…. These people have given me so much, and although I tucked them deep into the folds of my heart for years, I never thought I could truly open up these treasured feelings one day & TRULY support them with my very own eyes & ears & heart. IN person. I am just so so so blessed. So thankful. Really. Always.

Now, it’s time to bring myself to reality & to think about what this means for me going forward. I don’t want to believe in my passion for my music as a phase: Infinite & all things K-pop wasn’t simply a phase for me. It literally was a maturation, a self-realization, a loss of support for the things I never really knew or understood until time started to pass. I don’t think I grew out of K-pop. I think I simply grew with K-pop & got to understand more about it. And with that understanding came a change of heart. Which is literally the title of my post from years ago: “why I fell out of love with K-pop”. It’s not just “Oh, I am older now. So, I don’t want to like this seemingly childish stuff”. No, it was never about K-pop’s image or whatever. I can’t emphasize more, but it always comes down to the music for me.

Infinite has been and is a piece of my life that I will never forget. A piece of my life that has literally brought me to where I am today. I sit here, with my experiences and knowledge and feelings, in part, due to Infinite. I can guarantee anyone that much. And so, no, they really weren’t just a phase. Things change, people grow older, time flows. That’s just how it works. Does my heart ache over old K-pop like every day? Hell yeah it does LOL. But there’s nothing I can do about it. I can only thank old & 2nd-gen K-pop for the amazing memories that it has given me.

And so, with my music and my artists today, is this all a phase? Will I stop being as enthusiastic years later, like I did with Infinite? You see, with Infinite, I was always apprehensive. At the age of 12, I KNEW that time would eventually take its toll & my blatant love would not necessarily transcend the years that will drag on in the future. But that never made my appreciation for them dim: it only grew stronger as the days went by. I think I am always apprehensive. I think I always fear losing the feelings that I feel with great passion & love at this moment in time. Just as Roy says, 영원한 건 없지만. Nothing lasts forever (but...). I literally think about this all the time. It is such an important concept to me, and it is how I motivate myself to be thankful for everything and everyone and to just take things one step at a time. And so, to really answer my question: is this all just a phase?

I really, honestly, hope… No, I just think not. I really do not think so. At the age of say, 24, five years from now, will I still be loving Roy & Sam & DAY6 & Fromm & everyone else? I really honestly hope so. For as long as they can make music, I can keep loving them, right? Just as Infinite has done since I was 11, 8 years ago, up until today, I firmly believe that my artists can continue this long-lasting impression on my life. They instill a sort of magic & sentiment in my life that almost nothing else in this world can do for me. And for that, I will stay grateful for & only hope for the best.

Roy is currently back in school right now, finishing up his last semester before he finally gets to graduate! I am excited and proud and a bit sad all at the same time. But honestly, it really just comes down to the humanness of these people. When I first saw Infinite back in 2013 as a lil 14 year-old, I guess you could say I was starstruck. I was like “that’s them??!?? Those dudes ive spent countless hours watching through the computer screen?????? THEY ARE RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME?”. I had similar thoughts at the LA K-pop Festival in Apr. 2014 when I saw many many many of the big, og k-pop groups at that time. It was hard to believe that these people are real. I would say that my experience with the “With Antenna” in LA concert back in Sept. 2017 made me come to this important realization. That was the first concert where I actually spent the entire time sitting down and just listening. Listening to these wonderful musicians playing their instruments & singing gorgeous songs & just absorbing all that godly magic in the air at that place in time.

I really got to feel how human artists are at the end of the day. K-pop is always built up to be this larger-than-life dynamic, but real artists… No, they’re so much more different. They are simply people, like you and me, with a passion for their music & they wish to share that passion with the rest of the world. That’s it. The sincerity & genuineness that goes into my artists’ music can literally be felt from all the way across the world, just through a few audio snippets, fancams, and grainy Instagram videos. And that is seriously so beautiful. They are so amazing at what they do, they truly are.

Roy’s last two songs from 2018 were purely love song ballads, and I am not complaining or anything. As solid and classic as these tracks were, I still miss that acoustic, healing tone from him. Before he left for school again, he mentioned several times that he wants to come back with music that will console listeners. I was honestly so genuinely happy to hear this. He knows, he honestly, really does. He has even said it before, but he knows that his music can literally lift people back up from the dead. He wants to do that for them. For you and me, who struggle in life when the going gets rough, he wants to be of some sort of help, no matter how minuscule. He knows, he really does. And that is just so beautiful. I am so proud of him & I can’t wait to see what he will have in store for us in the coming months (after his grad, that is).

To all my artists that made these 4 months feel like a literal dream: Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Sincerely. Thank you. Always.

늘 고마워요.

#korean music #roy kim #rochestra #sam kim #sun and moon #fromm #midnight candy #day6 #infinite #woohyun #eddy kim #am i missing anyone #prolly am #sigh i still cant #im so so so blessed #thank you for everything #ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

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tidefated · 6 years ago

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Note; I get that this is a reblog and fill it out form but I actually? Hate that so I’m reposting but I was tagged by @oceanfoamed and here’s the original form for ya’ll <-- leaving Holmes’s commentary here

In general:

Real name: Skyler

Nicknames: Bun / Sky

Age: 22

Sexuality: *insert one of my usual schrodinger jokes here*

Prefered pronouns: He / They

Are you a morning person?: I can be, but it depends on how my life is rolling at the time. Lately I like to sleep in more than I like mornings.

When swimming, do you prefer to do it in the ocean, or in a lake?: Ok full disclosure? I am so goddamn landlocked I have seen the ocean twice in my life- well, 3 times, but the first I was too young to remember, I’m just aware I was there, and must have seen it. I’m so landlocked, that the nearest large bodies of water ( a terrifyingly polluted lake and a terrifyingly polluted river ) are each a two/two-and-a-half hour drive away. I have seen the river when driving over it, and the lake at a distance because we were told to stay off the beach and I was like... 11? My ability to swim is pretty pathetic- I’ve apparently got all the motions right, but I perpetually forget to actually breath when I bring my head out of the water- like my body just fucking refuses to do it. So uh- short answer, I guess, is I don’t have enough experience to have a preference, and either way it’s probably not smart to let me do it unsupervised.

On Tumblr:

Anyone you would like to meet in real life?: Now that Mani is on my side of the ocean, @seafaired is someone I hope to see before the year is out, if I can arrange travel expenses accordingly, also @apcgee promised to go to a Broadway show with me.

Anyone you have met in real life?: I spent like 2 months-ish living with @oceanfoamed, but otherwise not yet!

When did you first join? How old is your current account?: Uuh- I think I joined the RPC in like 2012? Idk we were all still using big gifs and formatting didn’t exist yet. This blog’s original form was made back in December/January 2017/2018, and was just remade ( better ) literally last month. So pretty shiny new.

Any peeves?: I mean basically all the stuff Holmes listed, but also whackadoodle formatting with lots of weird spacing and capitalized words and.. and... and... ugh guys people have?? Vision problems?? I am dyslexic fam you are not making my life any easier.

Unpopular opinion: TBH Malakh covered this really well in his version of this post, with the comment on purity culture, so uh. That. All of it. <-- that, but also throwing my own on here so as not to be a total copycat: You don’t have to write with a million people to be a successful RPer? Your worth is not measured by the number of your threads or partners. You can write with 100 people, you can write with 30 people, you can write with 5 people, you can write with 1 person, and you are still valid and worthy of respect as an RPer because this is about having fun not pressuring yourself beyond your comfort. That was a lesson hard learned for me & I feel it’s very important for everyone to remember.

Feelings:

Do you easily get jealous?: Jealous, no- insecure, sometimes. I’m very aware that no one is obligated to write with me or anyone else? No matter what? But there will be times I doubt myself when others come around and that is- fairly natural I think? So I may withdraw until I can isolate the source of my own insecurities and smush them, or reach out for a little reassurance.

Do you easily get angry?: Under very particular circumstances.

Are you easy to cheer up?: Sometimes? Sort of? Usually when I get upset I only experience the actual upset-ness for a short while, and go straight to numbness- how long that lasts is pretty dependent on how effectively I can distract myself- but there’s only so much another person can do to distract me.

What’s the most hurtful thing someone could do to you?: Why the hell would I tell the internet? Ok but no really continuing here why would this be on a meme why would anyone even ask this?? Like- 80% of the people on this hellsite have trust issues they won’t own up to so like what is the point lmfao??

What’s the most hurtful thing someone has done to you?: One time my cat came to lay next to me like the sweetie he is, except instead he trotted across my face and sat exactly 2.5 feet away. >:

Are you good at hiding your emotions?: Probably, considering I’m not sure what they are half the time.

What’s the very best way to cheer you up?: Change the topic or use animal gifs. <--- same. Usually I need time to emotionally separate myself from an issue so that I can revisit it later- dealing with it in the moment is almost never a good idea- so the best thing to do is get me buried in basically anything else.

Relationships:

Are you currently in a relationship?: Nah- did that whole commitment thing for a little over 3 years and it kinda wrecked me mentally, emotionally, and physically haha. I’m not wholly opposed to the idea of dating, but long-term relationships are pretty far off the radar atm.

Do you currently have a crush on someone?: Nope. I adore lots of people but my heart doesn’t do the squeezy-plunk for anybody.

If yes, might that someone be reading this?: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Do you kiss on the first date?: Errm... I know this seems to contradict the committed relationship thing mentioned above but.... I’ve never actually been on a date? That said, I don’t see the problem with doing so? I mean I’ve kissed people I’m not even attracted to bc we both decided to go ‘what the hell’, so it seems fine to me to kiss someone I am attracted to without a fuss.

Do you prefer going out, or staying home, when it comes to dates?: I had to think about this bc like Holmes I hate leaving my house but also the idea of inviting someone in to my house when I’m already out of my depth sounds like an awful idea cause it might destabilize my safe space.

Things:

Favorite drink: Water, some chai tea, frozen matcha, and lavender lattes specifically the way I make them at work.

Favorite food: Mmm any food that doesn’t make me sick is good food. Bonus points if I don’t have to cook it.

Most calming place?: Anywhere I can curl up and not be interrupted by humans while I dick around on my computer / anywhere I can sit in peace and quiet with a book and not be interrupted by humans or noises ( bonus points if lots of nature )

Most stressful place?: Anywhere that has more than (1) human I do not know intimately well. Any place with more than (4) people I know intimately well. <--- Holmes I feel called out

Most prized possession?: Laptop, as I cannot say my cats- but my Slytherin cloak from HP world cuts a close second, along with my vv old hardback copies of the HP books, which were gifts from my great grandmother when I was growing up.

Tag five people (if you want to):

✗ @apcgee

✗ Anyone who wants to do the thing should steal it like the pirates they are cause Holmes tagged all my other people or they’ve already done it.

#OOC | ignore the man behind the curtain #munday | reality knocking

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princesswinnifred · 6 years ago

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i have not done one of these in a very long time but i have had too much caffeine today and i’m feeling particularly Share-y so here’s this

1. The last person you kissed screams they love you, you say… i straight up do not know who the last person i kissed was and not bc i’m a big ho it’s because the last time i kissed someone it was for performance art so idk how to answer this

2. Did you get to sleep in today? yes i did and i regret it

3. Do you never know what you got until you lose it? like yes, absolutely, that’s why it’s a cliche

4. Do you have siblings? yes i have a younger brother

5. How many kids do you want? like two probably

6. Who was the last person you held hands with? it was likely marin from chais or someone else really touchy

7. Did you stand on your tippy-toes for your last kiss? no i was seated

8. Do you think if you died, the last person you kissed would care? idk who it was but i HOPE so

9. Last person to talk on the phone? my dad

10. Did anyone watch the last time you kissed someone? nope, by design

11. When’s your birthday? september 14

12. Remember the first time you kissed the last person you kissed? omg can we can it with the last person i kissed questions i do not know who it was

13. What kind of phone do you have? iphone 7+

14. Are you watching jeans, shorts, sweatpants, or pajama pants? i am not wearing any pants

15. Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? very different!!!! i just copy-pasted this question thing from somewhere where i did it five years ago and my answers are very different

16. What were you doing at 4am? i was ASLEEP

17. Would you rather write a paper or give a speech? give a speech but i don’t mind either

18. Are you lying to yourself about something? probably lol aren’t we all always doing that

19. Last night you felt…? not great

20. What’s something you cannot wait for? my friends to come home from europe/hang out with me!!!!

21. Ever told your parents you were going somewhere but went somewhere different? probably

22. How many hours of sleep did you get last night? like ten

23. Are you a morning or a night person? night

24. What did you get your last bruise from? it’s a MYSTERY as per usual

25. Do you reply to all of your texts? yeah compulsively

26. Your phone is ringing. It’s the person you fell hardest for. What do you do? i’d be like “this is bizarre bc i have not heard from this person in like three years” but i’d answer?

27. Did your last kiss take place in/on a bed? nope

28. Anyone you would like to get things straight with? yeah!!!!!! absolutely yeah

29. How many months until your birthday? four!!! twenty-fun baby

30. Favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? chocolate!!!!!

31. Did you like this past summer? last summer was pretty good

32. What were you doing before you got on the computer? i watched inside llewyn davis with my parents

33. Your ex is sitting next to you, with their new partner. What do you do? i’d be like “WHY DON’T YOU HAVE A FACEBOOK???”

34. Last thing you said out loud? “goodnight”

35. Your mood summed into one word? vibrating

36. Are you doing anything else besides taking this survey? nope

37. What are your initials? SJL

38. Are you a happy person? nope but that’s okay

39. Do you still talk to the person you liked four months ago? four months ago i didn’t really Like anyone

40. Where do you want to live when you’re older? new york probably, idk a city with cool theatre

41. Have you had your birthday this year? nope

42. What did you do yesterday? i worked and had a miserable time interviewing the director of this show and then i drove home and it took me forever and then i watched high school musical theatre awards with my parents

43. What will you be doing tomorrow? idk hopefully something that makes me feel productive

44. How late did you stay up last night? i prob fell asleep around 2

45. Is there anyone you would do anything for? yeah for sure

46. Is it hard to make you laugh? not at all

47. Do you believe exes can be just friends? idk it depends on the circumstances of the breakup but probably yes

48. Do you think any of your exes will eventually want to be with you again? no lol

49. How many people have you had feelings for in the year of 2012? like 2.5 cause one of them wasn’t serious at all (im keeping the 2012 answer bc in my mind it’s only one but 2012 sarah knows the sitch better than 2018 sarah does)

50. Do you wish your ex was dead? no!

51. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes

52. Would you ever take back someone who cheated? i don’t think so

53. Was New Year’s Eve enjoyable? yeah i love new year’s!!!

54. Bet you’re missing someone right now? yep!!!!! always in the summer especially

55. How would your parents react if you got a tattoo? well i did get a tattoo and my mother did not speak to me for a while but my dad was fine

56. Sleep on your back or stomach? side

57. If you could move away, no questions asked, where would it be? london probably

58. What would you change about your life right now? i’d be more confident and i’d have a well-paying job

59. Has anything upset you in the past week? yeah obviously who do you think i am

60. Are you on the phone? nope

61. Today, would you rather go forward or back a week? forward

62. Would you take $40,000 or a brand new car? 40k are u kidding

63. Have you ever talked to someone when they were high? hundreds of times

64. Ever cried when you were on the phone with someone? absolutely

65. Have you ever copied somebody else’s homework? yes lol

66. Are you the type of person who likes to be out or at home? at home!!!! but out on specific occasions

67. Do you automatically check your phone when you wake up? yes

68. Have you ever stayed up all night on the phone? close to

69. Could you use some sleep right now? yes absolutely

70. Are you going to have a baby by the time you’re 18? i am 20 and i didn’t

71. Does it bother you when someone hides things from you? it sure does

72. What’s your favorite color? pink

73. Have you ever slept in the same room with someone you liked? yes

74. Have you ever been looking for something and it was already in your hand? constantly

75. Do you get annoyed easily? i do

76. If someone liked you, would you want them to tell you? lol it totally depends

77. Do you have a person of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? yes

78. Does anyone call you babe? no THANKS

79. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? two or three

80. What do you prefer, relationship or one night stand? relationship!!!!

81. What color hoodie did you wear last? maroon

82. Is there someone who meant a lot to you at one point and isn’t around anymore? yep

#about me #this is a lot of nothing #but yeah

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nuald · 4 years ago

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Living in Calgary

I've been living in Calgary for 2 years already, and I think it's time to recap few things about living here, pros/cons and possible remedies to the issues you might face here.

Please note that life now is different compared with what you could have even 10 years ago. I guess both Vancouver and Calgary (as those are the only cities I've lived in long enough) were nice for newcomers (by newcomers I've meant people who just moved there and didn't have a lot of money to settle in). Right now, both cities have changed and introduced more obstructions to residents.

That's why despite a lot of cons of Calgary below, it doesn't mean that this city shouldn't be considered for living. It's all about tolerance and life choices. If you have proper expectations, it will be easier to adapt. There are definitely people who love Calgary (esp. if they are mortgage-free and/or love winter activities), and who hate it (e.g. who got their houses ruined by hail or flood).

I'm not going to provide a simple list of pros/cons (as cons for me could be pros for you, for example, long winter season), but rather take the most important areas and describe them.

Services

Calgary is definitely a family-friendly city, much more friendlier than Vancouver. Schools and kindergartens are not so busy and expensive. If you want some particular school, you still need to be in the wait-list though, but if you’re not picky, there are definitely some options available. All levels of education, including universities, are presented.

It’s not a problem to get the family doctor too. Walk-in clinics are not so busy too, and emergency wait times are bearable.

Entertainment options are quite good: museums, libraries, one of biggest YMCA in Canada, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Alberta Ballet, Calgary Zoo etc

However, I have to note the prices of the dental services. Alberta has the highest prices for dental. Historically, oil and gas companies provided full dental coverage and didn’t care much about prices. It’s all changed, but the prices are still high. I hope it’s going to change, but right now please be careful about it.

Transportation

I can’t say much about public transit, I guess it's ok-ish in downtown and not so good in the outskirts, but that's applicable for all cities in general. For reference, in 2020 the single fare for adults is $3.50 for 90 minutes (there are no zones in Calgary). There is CTrain too (light rail transit), but it's not as extensive as in Vancouver. There are some plans to improve it (e.g. add Green Line), but it has been delayed many times already, and it's difficult to predict when they will finish it.

Calgary is a private car city - it has 2 major highways (100 km/h limit) through the city, plus there some long streets and avenues which could be considered minor highways (the speed limit up to 80 km/h). Essentially, you can get to any location in Calgary in 30 minutes on average. I guess the only real traffic jams I’ve seen was during Stampede, and it’s just a week in a year. In general, it’s a real pleasure to drive here, especially if you leave Calgary core and takes any of the scenic routes it has on the outskirts and further in the numerous parks.

Despite that there are few obstacles for being a happy driver here:

a lot of speed cameras. Speed tickets are a source of income for the city, and sometimes they abuse it. Radars are legal, including hidden mobile radars, and the abuses include sudden speed sign changes and school zones limits which disregard the school days, and enforced from 7am to 9pm everyday including weekends and holidays.

gravel on the road. They use sharp-edged gravel in the winter, and considering speeds on highways and lots of semi, you may forget about having a nice non-cracked windshield and sunroof (I've got huge cracks on both). Glass insurance is not included in the basic packages, and should be bought separately.

a note about insurance. It's not cheaper than ICBC, it's actually more expensive and has more restrictions (at least for immigrants).

a lot of construction. Mostly closer to downtown, but major highways are affected too. Fortunately, there are not many two-lane highways like in BC (mostly 4 or 6 lanes), so the delays are not so huge, but could easily take 20-30 minutes.

My recommendations: don’t buy luxury cars (not only winter tires and windshields are expensive, it’s difficult to maintain the low speed), get glass insurance ASAP, use apps like Waze to check the road condition ahead.

Climate

Calgary has more sun than Vancouver, however I can't say it's a sunny city (I guess Canada just in general doesn't have a lot of sun). Moreover, the sun doesn't matter so much as it doesn't mean that the city is getting a lot of its heat - it has snow for at least 6 months a year (first snow could fall in Sep, but usually it doesn’t stay for long, and the last snow is melted in Apr/May).

Sun is very bright (due to altitude), and the humidity is low. Nice green grass requires either irrigation or rainy days. There is no dedicated line for irrigation, so you would need to use the “drinking” water, and a lot of it.

A note about “drinking” water - its quality definitely worse than in Vancouver (it's quite hard and has other chemicals). While they allow us to drink it from the tap, we don't risk it, plus we don't like having stains on every glass surface we have in the house. Fortunately, it's possible to avoid it with softener (plus we have a reverse osmosis system for actual drinking). It’s not cheap though, but it’s a long term investment that could be worth thinking about (we’ve installed the systems from https://www.jugfree.com/ and they have prices there for reference).

Short summers don't always bring warmth and sun only, but also heavy rains, hail and tornado. Hail damages houses and cars, and the last storm in Calgary (June 2020) has the estimation in damages nearly $1 billion: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/cost-of-damage-from-weekend-storm-could-total-1-billion-nenshi

Winter is not so harsh though due to Chinook. Visually it looks like huge dark clouds cover the city and the temperature is rising. Even without it, the winter is mild enough, but it's not always good. As the day/night temperature could differ in 20C, the ice (usual or black) is the real issue here, and winter tires are strongly recommended.

My recommendations: South Calgary has a better climate and usually hail is not so bad here (we live in South East). It’s better to avoid the north (besides that, North East has a high crime rate).

Real Estate

The houses are cheaper in Vancouver, definitely. Medium income families can afford decent living conditions here. Surely, nothing fancy, the same overpriced wood frame houses as in North America overall, as the construction lobby is very strong here, and having sound-proof, properly thermal insulated houses, preferably from bricks, is a luxury.

Please note though that the taxes are increasing. As Calgary (and Alberta overall) in a financial crisis (they put in motion a lot of expensive projects when the oil/gas industry boomed, and still couldn’t recover after its collapse), so they burden their problems on residents.

Also, they have tons of other cash grabs there (carbon tax, some administrative fees nobody can explain), so the utilities are not cheap either. Insurance is also one of the highest in Canada (the official excuse is they are losing money because of hail storms and other disasters).

My recommendations: Towns near Calgary could be worth researching (like Okotoks or Chestermere). Surely, there are some disadvantages living there (for example, I’m literally 5 minutes drive from both major highways, so don’t have to deal with the slow traffic), but it’s definitely cheaper. https://www.realtor.ca/ is a Canada-wide database, you can look up the property ahead.

Geography

Calgary has quite a good location if you like nature. It has the unique position to provide access to several big natural areas at once, so if you have bad weather in one region, you can drive to the opposite direction and still find something nice. Please note that Calgary has the international airport with the decent choice of direct flights too.

On the west:

Banff National Park. It's a two hour drive (depending on traffic jams, usually they have some esp. on weekends). Please note that you don’t necessarily need to visit Banff and the park, and can find nice places near Canmore and Kananaskis (K-country).

East K-country, has several provincial parks. More accessible, shorter (1+ hour) drive (not necessary Hwy 1, but also Hwy 22), almost no traffic jams. A lot of ATV options, lakes and mountain hikes.

On the east:

Badlands. Surely, the most famous is Drumheller region (1.5+ hour drive), but they have much more than that as the badlands are presented in many places in Southeast Alberta, like Dinosaur Provincial Park (2h drive).

A lot of lakes with kayaking, fishing and jet skis options. The examples are Lake McGregor (a little over an hour drive) and Lake Newell (2 hours drive).

On the south:

Waterton Lakes National Park, 2.5 hours drive, a lot of activities there, but due to recent forest fires not everything is open.

US border (the traffic is much lighter compared with Vancouver, almost no waits). The prominent examples are Glacier National Park, Montana (3 hours drive) and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (10 hours drive).

On the north:

Shortcut to Jasper. While driving through Banff in theory faster (5 hours), in reality due to constructions, traffic jams and two-lane Icefield Parkway it could be faster to drive through Rocky Mountain House (6 hours).

There are a lot of parks there too, we just never got a chance to explore them yet. I guess Big Hill Springs Provincial Park could be an example of those (1 hour drive).

Shopping

It’s easier to shop here due to easy commuting and close availability of the big stores: Costco, Walmart, Superstore, Save-on-Foods, Home Depot, Lowes etc. Definitely, there are big malls (i.e. Chinook Center, CF Market Mall), outlets (i.e. CrossIron Mills) and big specialized stores (i.e. Cabela’s) too.

Diversity is not so good though - mostly North America merchandise. We found only one decent store for Asian products: T&T Supermarket. There are some small Asian stores too (mostly in the North), but they usually don’t have anything extra special compared with T&T.

Seafood options are not so great too (both in restaurants and in stores). Oysters and lobsters are quite uncommon for Calgary. I guess T&T has the best selection, but still less than in Vancouver.

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astrogeoguy · 7 years ago

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The Moon Covers Aldebaran while Morning Mercury Meets Mars, plus Lyra for September Stargazing!

(Above: The Ring Nebula aka Messier 57 is a planetary nebula - the corpse of a sun-like star. The tiny star in the centre is the cooling naked core of the former star, now radiating the sphere of gas, and causing it to glow.)

Stargazing News for this week (from September 10th, 2017) by Chris Vaughan. (Feel free to pass this along to friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics.) I post these with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! All times mentioned are in Eastern Standard Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested in joining me in a guided field trip to the York University Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

Public Events

At 7:30 pm on Wednesday, September 13, the RASC Toronto Centre will hold their free monthly Recreational Astronomy Night Meeting at the Ontario Science Centre, and the public are welcome. Talks include the Sky This Month, several reports about trips to see the recent solar eclipse (with pictures and videos), and setting up your own observatory. Check here for details. Parking is free.

Other events this week include The Science Behind Earth-like Planets presented by U of T’s Dr. Mike Reid (he’s excellent) at City Hall Library on Thursday (details here), Nerd Nite Toronto: Spaced and Confused: A Hypnotic Journey, which mixes suds and science at the Transac Club on Thursday (details here), and U of T Planetarium: Voyager’s Odyssey: A Small Probe’s Adventures into Interstellar Space on Friday (details here).

(Above: Every year in early evening in mid-September, the same stars surround the zenith, which is defined as the point on the sky directly overhead.)

September Stargazing Round-up - Lyra

With the Moon out of the evening sky for the next few weeks and darkness falling a bit earlier, it’s a good time to tour the night sky.

Once it’s dark, tilt your head back and look waaay up. Or set out a blanket, gravity chair, or chaise. Point your finger directly overhead. That’s the zenith - the point of the sky directly above you. During the night, various stars and constellations will pass through that patch of sky as the Earth’s rotation carries them from east to west. While objects occupy that position, they will always appear at their best. That’s because you are looking through the least amount of intervening air.

(Above: A close-up of the zenith area (green cross) at 9 pm in mid-September. Clockwise from bottom, the surrounding constellations are Lyra, Cygnus, Draco, and Hercules. The deep sky objects peppering the Milky Way are indicated with symbols and labels.)

In early evening in mid-September every year, the constellations of Lyra (the Harp), Cygnus (the Swan), Hercules, and Draco (the Dragon) occupy that spot. I’ll post a sky chart here. Over the next few weeks, we’ll tour them, pointing out some objects you can look at with binoculars and small telescopes. Up first is Lyra. In Greek mythology, Lyra is the musical instrument created from a turtle shell by Hermes and later used by Orpheus in his ill-fated attempt to rescue his lost love Eurydice from the underworld. We Canadian astronomers call Lyra the “Tim Hortons Constellation” because it contains both a doughnut and a double-double (coffee)!

Facing south and looking just to the lower right of the zenith, you’ll easily spot the very bright star Vega, or Alpha Lyrae – the brightest star in the constellation. Vega, the fifth brightest star in the entire night sky, partly because it is only about 25 light years away, and partly because it is a very hot luminous star. The name Vega arises from the Arabic "Al Nasr al Waqi", or the "swooping eagle". Traditionally, the Lyre was pictured as being grasped in the talons of an eagle.

Vega is heading towards the Sun and will continually brighten over time, becoming the brightest star in the night sky a few hundred thousand years from now. Meanwhile, the wobble of the Earth’s axis will also cause Vega to become the North Pole Star around 14,500 AD, as it was around 12,000 BC. This star is a star!

Vega also is the brightest, highest, and most westerly of the three beautiful blue-white stars of the Summer Triangle. Moving clockwise, Altair is about three fist widths below and to the left of Vega. Deneb, slightly dimmer than the other two, completes the large triangle at the upper left. The separation between Deneb and Vega is shorter, only 24° or 2.5 fist widths.

Chinese culture celebrates a love story in which Cowherd Niú Láng (牛郎) is the star Altair. He and his two children, (β and γ Aquilae, the stars that flank Altair) are separated from their mother Zhī Nǚ (織女) the "Weaving Girl" (Vega) who is on the far side of the river, which is represented by the Milky Way. Each year, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, magpies make a bridge so that the family can be together again for a single night.

(Above: A detailed star map of the constellation Lyra, including the two Messier objects M57 and M56)

Look for a medium-dim star about a finger’s width to the left of Vega. A similarly dim star sits about a finger’s width below it. The three stars form a neat little triangle with Vega at the right. Binoculars or a small telescope will reveal that the triangle’s star to the left of Vega, designated Epsilon Lyrae, is actually a close pair of stars. A really good telescope will reveal that each of the pair of stars is itself a very close together pair! This quadruple star system, or “double-double”, is about 162 light-years from Earth. Even more interesting, each little pair is circling one another, and the two pairs may also be orbiting - in a neat little square dance that takes thousands of years to complete!

The other corner of our little triangle is the star Zeta Lyrae, and it, too can be split into a double star with binoculars. Both are white and one is slightly brighter than its partner. These stars are about 152 light-years away, and they themselves have partners that are too close to split visually.

Zeta is also the top right star of a narrow upright parallelogram about two fingers wide and four fingers tall that forms the rest of the constellation. Moving clockwise, we find Sheliak, Sulafat, and Delta Lyrae. Sheliak, meaning “Harp”, is the brightest of a tight little grouping of stars visible in a telescope. Sheliak itself has a close-in dim partner that orbits the main star so that, every 13 days, the brighter star is blocked and the total brightness drops by a noticeable amount. This is called an Eclipsing Binary system.

Next, at the bottom of the parallelogram, sits Sulafat, meaning “Turtle”, and named for the shell forming the body of the Lyre. Sulafat is a hot blue giant star 620 light-years away. Similar in colour to Vega, Sulafat is much larger - an old star on its way to becoming an orange giant many years from now.

Finally, at the upper left of the parallelogram is Delta Lyrae. Sharp eyes and binoculars will easily reveal that this is yet another pair of stars – one blue (upper) and one red (lower). The two are not related - the blue star is several hundred light-years farther away than the red one. They just happen to appear close together along the same line of sight.

So, where’s the doughnut? Train your telescope midway between Sheliak and Sulafat, and look for the little, dim, grey smoke ring known as the Ring Nebula (also known as Messier 57). This little bubble of gas in space is the remnant of a dead star that was very much like our Sun. These common objects are called planetary nebulae because they show a little round disk, like a planet. Finally, using binoculars or a telescope, extend to the lower left the line that joins Sheliak to Sulafat. At about twice their separation (from Sulafat) is a Globular Star Cluster called Messier 56. It will appear as a dim fuzzy patch – a Timbit!

Let me know how your exploration of Lyra goes. There are lots of double stars in the constellation.

The Moon and Planets

The Moon reaches its Last Quarter phase in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Last quarter moons rise about midnight and persist into the daytime morning sky, leaving the evenings darker for stargazing. The 90° angle made between the Sun, Earth, and Moon at last quarter cause the moon to be half illuminated, lit on the eastern (left-hand) side. The terms gibbous and crescent are used to describe objects that are more than half illuminated, or less than half. By the way, only bodies that venture between us and the Sun can ever appear as crescents when viewed from the surface of the Earth. Those are the Moon, Venus, and Mercury (and some asteroids).

The day before last quarter, from midnight to dawn on Tuesday, September 12, the waning gibbous moon will pass through the stars marking the triangular face of Taurus (the Bull). As dawn approaches, the moon moves towards Taurus’ brightest star Aldebaran. You can try using a backyard telescope to see the Moon pass in front of (or occult) the star. In the Great Lakes region, the Moon covers Aldebaran around 8:48 am EDT and moves off it about 10 am (times varies by location). Observers in western North America and Hawaii will see the event in a dark sky.

(Above: Between about 8:45 and 10 am Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday morning, the moon will pass in front of the bright star Aldebaran. A telescope might let you see the event, which happens in a dark sky for observers in the Pacific Ocean region.)

For the rest of the week, the Moon wanes and rises later, and passing though the legs of Gemini (the Twins) and then appearing as a thin crescent above Venus in the eastern pre-dawn sky on Sunday morning.

This week, Mercury is giving us its best appearance of the year for mid-northern skywatchers all over the world, and it’s easily seen with plain old eyeballs. Look for it very low in the eastern sky from the time it rises, about 5:30 am local time, until about 6:30 am. On Tuesday morning, the planet will reach its widest angle west of the sun, and peak visibility. If you want to try using a telescope, Mercury will exhibit a waxing half-illuminated phase. But be sure to point the telescope away from the eastern horizon well before the Sun comes up.

On Monday morning, Mercury will sit only a finger width below the bright star Regulus and about three finger widths to the upper right of much dimmer Mars. As the week progresses, Mercury will drop away from the star and approach Mars, passing so close that on Saturday and Sunday morning both planets should appear together in a telescope eyepiece (but Saturday is best). While Mercury will pass in a week or two, Mars will become easier and easier to see after it rises about 5:30 am local time.

(Above: Mercury reaches peak visibility on Tuesday morning when it swings widest of the Sun. Mars, Regulus, and Venus are nearby.)

And don’t forget to check out extremely bright Venus. Recently showing a gibbous phase, It’s much higher than Mercury because it rises in the eastern sky after 4 am local time. This week, the planet continues to descend slowly sunward towards Leo (the Lion).

Jupiter is the bright white object low in the southwestern evening sky after sunset. It sets before 9 pm local time this week. Saturn is the medium-bright, yellowish object partway up the southern sky as the evening darkens. It sets in the west just before midnight local time. Once it’s dark, you can see the fist-sized Teapot-shaped group of stars to the left of Saturn and the distinctive Scorpius (the Scorpion), with its tail curving eastwards low above the horizon, to the right of the ringed planet.

(Above: The sky at 8:30 pm local time. Jupiter, at lower right sets early, while Saturn at centre persists until midnight.)

Blue-green Uranus, situated along the eastern (left-hand) string of stars that form Pisces (the Fishes), rises about 9 pm local time and is observable for the rest of the night in binoculars under a dark sky (but not this week!). There’s a medium-bright star about a finger’s width below Uranus.

Tiny blue Neptune is approximately opposite the Sun in the sky, putting it near its closest and brightest for this year. Also observable all night, it is located about two finger widths to the lower left of the medium-bright star Hydor in Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). It is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye.

Keep looking up to enjoy the sky! I love getting questions so, if you have any, send me a note.

#astronomy #stargazing #planets #stars #Vega #Aldebaran #Lyra #Last Quarter moon #zenith #Saturn #Mercury

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hashtagvanlife · 8 years ago

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Mountain Collective Road Trip Wrapup

In January 2017, I left from Los Angeles, CA to start my road trip to all of the mountains on the Mountain Collective Ski Pass. The mountain, the conditions and my accommodations for each ski resort is listed below in order. I drove a total of 6,800 miles and went through one windshield wiper, two bottles of windshield fluid, one oil change, two ball joints, two struts, and five glow plugs.

Mammoth Lakes, California 300″ base of snow – 30-35 degrees F – sunny and blue skies One of the largest ski resorts in the US. It was a great start to the trip – great coverage and blue-bird conditions with low wind. The terrain was very accessible and easy to get around. Lots of steep, fast runs (which I loved!) ACCOMMODATIONS: Mammoth Guest House (an awesome old wood A-frame).

Squaw Valley, Tahoe, California 158″ base of snow – 39 degrees F – raining/sleet/snow mix and windy (40 mph at mid-mountain and 100mph winds at the peak) Squaw has their first big snow season in almost 5 years however it was one of the worst days of skiing in my life. All of the locals had squeeges on their gloves to wipe away the rain from their goggles. The snow was like Elmer’s glue. Conditions weren’t going to improve so I only skied one day. ACCOMMODATIONS: Tahoe Hostel right on Lake Tahoe (about 30 minutes from the mountain) .

Alta and Snowbird, Utah 102″ base of snow – 30-35 degrees F – cloudy and light snow Met up with Ian who was also doing the Mountain Collective resorts in a van. His Sprinter van is completely new and he has a toilet. Watched the Super Bowl in Elko NV and stupidly left after halftime and Tom Brady proceeded to have a huge overtime win. Snowboarding is banned from Alta. Had some fresh powder both days. Also bought used powder skis and poles for 100 dollars. Alta was my favorite – lots of steep, fast runs. Overall a small mountain. Snowbird had either extreme steeps or moderate, blue runs – almost scary at times.It was fun under the Peruvian lift. There was a Rebel Wilson sighting (Fat Amy from the movie, Pitch Perfect) at Snowbird (sorry – no picture evidence). ACCOMMODATIONS: Walmart Parking lot in Sandy, Utah – next to an Anytime Fitness, Starbucks, and 5 minutes from the Ski Bus shuttle up to the mountains.

Sun Valley, Idaho 146″ base of snow – 25-30 degrees F – cloudy and light snow Definitely one of the richest and nicest resorts ever. Excellent groomers and caught some powder the 2nd day. Would love to come back on a powder day! ACCOMMODATIONS: Stayed in an AirBnB since it was damn cold at night and parking wasn’t allowed on streets due to plowing.

Whistler, BC, Canada 101″ base of snow – 30-35 degrees F – clear and no wind Crossed the border in one hour including a secondary stop and thorough search of my van. Whistler/Blackcomb was overwhelming big – there were so many runs and wide open terrain to ski that I didn’t know what to ski. I skied Whistler mountain in the morning and then took the peak-2-peak tram to Blackcomb for the afternoon. Whatever type of terrain your heart desired, they could provide it. I was there on a weekday (albeit a Spring Break weekday) and 20,000 people were skiing which would crush any other mountain. Watch out in 2017/2018 when Whistler is on the Vail Resorts Epic pass – this place is going to be mobbed. ACCOMMODATIONS: Parked in the driveway of a heli guide in town.

Revelstoke, BC, Canada 99″ base of snow – 25-30 degrees F – cloudy and heavy snow I arrived in Revi on a Sunday and I waited for a few days since powder was in the forecast. I skied two days of fluffy deep powder on the biggest vertical of any North American ski resorts (almost 8000 feet). Only 3 lifts and 1 gondola service the whole mountain and there is a fair bit of traversing needed to access the whole mountain. This was easily my favorite mountain on this ski trip (fresh powder doesn’t hurt either!). Met two cool Aussies (Harleyand Benny). Will definitely come back in the summer. Revi is a hidden gem. ACCOMMODATIONS: Stayed in the Samesun hostel in town (about a 10 minute drive to the mountain).

Banff, Alberta, Canada (Lake Louise and Sunshine and Norquay) 78″ base of snow – 10-15 degrees F – cloudy and light snow Finished a great few days at Revi and said goodbye to the Aussies – Benny and Harley. I will hopefully visit Harley in Australia in the winter. I then drove over the most avalanche prone strecth of road in North America – 163 avalanche chutes and the Canadian military drives around and shoots a huge howitzer gun at the tops of the cliffs to cause avalanches. As I was driving through a tunnel an avalanche was going over the top of me! Amazingly, even though it was snowing heavily, the roads were fine. The town of Banff is magical and beautiful at night. I followed the storm that came from Revi and I skiied some deep powder in the back bowls of Lake Louise.

Switched hostels to HI apline center and it had a commercial kitchen which was awesome! I skied Sunshine which was OK since some parts of the slopes were very flat but I found some good steep stuff later in the day. Locals told me about Toonie day ($2 to ski) at Norquay and warned me about the Jerrys. I went there and skied for 2 hours and then got the hell out since no one knew how to ski! I wasn’t skiing – I was avoiding other skiers. ACCOMMODATIONS: Stayed in 2 different hostels – HI Alpine and Samesun in Banff. Both were great places to stay. About a 40 minute drive to Lake Louise and a 20 minute drive to Sunshine.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming 157″ base of snow – 40-45 degrees F – clear and very warm Stayed overnight in Bozeman where it was considerably warmer than the -10 F degrees in Banff. Then drove the remaining time to Jackson Hole and arrived to 50 F degrees. I was bummed that it was so warm. Switched all of my ski gear to spring skiing. The 1st day was awesome – icy in the morning but it thawed and was great until 3pm. Jackson Hole is big mountain skiing and I only wish I could have skied it with fresh powder. The 2nd day was rough since it didn’t freeze overnight and was slushy. I skied only 3 hours. Met a cool German guy – Sebastian (who is a doing a 12 month road trip) and we had dinner. ACCOMMODATIONS: A rough, old hostel built back in the 1950s with the best location ever – ski in/out right at the base of the mountain!

Snowmass, Aspen, Colorado 78″ base of snow – 40-50 degrees F – clear and very warm Skied Snowmass – long, wide open runs. Most of the mountain is blues, very few green runs or catwalks. The bowls looked great for a powder day. I really enjoyed carving the long, blue runs. ACCOMMODATIONS: Parked at the Carbondale park and ride and the Intercept lot near Snowmass.

Telluride, Colorado 75″ base of snow – 30-35 degrees F – clear and big powder on the second day Skied the first day on a perfectly windless, clear day. Met an Aussie – Dane at the hostel, caught a ride up with him to the mountain the next morning and skied a crazy amount of powder on the second day (approximately 20 inches). My ski popped off on a run and went shooting down the slope and over a cliff. Luckily a tree branch caught it before it went off the cliff! ACCOMMODATIONS: Stayed at Old Mine Shaft Inn in Rico, CO (about 30 minutes outside of Telluride).

Taos, New Mexico 98″ base of snow – 25-35 degrees F – cloudy and snowy Hands down some of the best powder skiing of my life. It didn’t hurt to be riding with a semi-local (shoutout to Lucas) to show Dane and I where the prime hiking spots were to be found. We skied some fresh powder on so many runs – it was a great end to the road trip! ACCOMMODATIONS: Parked in the Taos ski parking lot on the mountain.

In total, I spent about $1250 on accommodations over 2.5 months and $780 in diesel fuel. I went into the ski road trip with very low expectations – I would be successful if I didn’t crash my van and didn’t break any bones. Luckily, neither of those things happened! Overall, this was one of the most fun road trips of my life – obviously the skiing was great but the people that I met and connected with along the way were what made this road trip really special.

from Mountain Collective Road Trip Wrapup

#Mountain Collective Road Trip Wrapup

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